BOY'S DEATH MIGHT BE A SUICIDE.

Byline: Susan Goldsmith Daily News Staff Writer

A 14-year-old boy found dead over the weekend in a gated apartment complex may have been the victim of a suicide - not a fatal beating, as detectives originally suspected, LAPD officials said Tuesday.

Seiichi Yamamura's body was found at about 4 a.m. Sunday morning on a street inside the ViewPointe complex and detectives speculated that the multiple blunt-force trauma he sustained was the result of a beating. But Tuesday, following a autopsy, detectives said the teen may have jumped to his death from a nearby building.

``We are, at this point, reasonably certain he died as a result of jumping off the roof of the building. He sustained injuries that would be consistent with a fall from a great height,'' said Los Angeles Police Department Detective Rick Swanston of the West Valley Division. ``We're going to continue looking into it, but at this point we have no indication there was foul play.''

The boy's body was found in the road next to one of the complex's three-story units, Swanston said.

Coroner's officials, however, have not rendered a final opinion, pending the results of more tests, said Craig Harvey, chief of the investigations bureau for Los Angeles County's Coroner's Office.

``We have not yet determined whether to classify it a homicide, suicide or accident,'' said Harvey.

The results of toxicology tests, which screen for drugs or alcohol, won't be available for two to three weeks, he said.

According to Swanston, detectives originally ruled out the possibility of suicide after ViewPointe managers said it is nearly impossible to get onto a roof in the 663-unit complex, which is just off Ventura Boulevard. At that point, detectives began to investigate whether the teen had been hit by a car or beaten to death.

Because none of the residents heard anything and there was no evidence of a car accident, Swanston said authorities then began to consider the case a homicide.

But after extensive interviews with residents who lived close to where the teen's body was found, detectives began to question that scenario as well, Swanston said.

``There's over 1,000 people residing in the complex and had he been the victim of a beating, like his injuries indicated, someone would have heard that,'' Swanston said. ``The autopsy showed the injuries came all at once and were not the result of multiple blows. There is no indication he was thrown off or pushed.''

The teen-ager moved into the complex two weeks ago with his parents and sister from Lakewood, Colo. Since moving into ViewPointe, Swanston said, the boy rarely left his apartment.

``He had no friends and was upset over school,'' he said.

Family members declined comment.