Police work on Twilight screening death mystery

Police hope today to solve the mystery of the death of a young man at the screening of the new Twilight movie in Wellington.

The 23-year-old was found dead in his seat in the Reading Cinema complex on Courtenay Place by a security guard at the end of 6pm screening of Twilight: Eclipse on Sunday night.

Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Miller said last night the man had no obvious injuries and his death was not being treated as suspicious but an autopsy was being carried out today to try and establish how he died.

Police had identified the man described as being "transient" who was known to travel around New Zealand but had so far been unable to reach his next of kin.

Police believed the man attended the movie alone and asked anyone who attended the 6pm screening to come forward if they had noticed anything unusual.

The security guard who found the man was alerted to his presence by a staff member thought he was "asleep" after seeing him still on his seat after everyone else had left, he said.

Ambulance and fire officers attended the scene and tried in vain to resuscitate him.

Mr Miller said police completed their examination of the scene in time for the movie theatre to reopen last night.

The rest of the complex was unaffected.

- NZPA