The 12-year-old boy found dead in his DeKalb County apartment was a victim of homicide, police said Thursday.

Nicolas Aleman died as the result of ligature asphyxiation, DeKalb County police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said. Police have not identified a suspect in the strangulation death, Parish said.

Nicolas' body was found Tuesday afternoon by his mother inside a unit at the Highland Knoll apartment complex, located at 3699 Buford Highway, police said.

Emergency officials responded to a call reporting a person down, possibly suffering from cardiac arrest, Officer Jason Gagnon told the AJC on Tuesday night.

"EMS personnel called our detectives after they noticed a few things that didn't look right," Gagnon told the AJC.

Nicolas was a sixth grader at Sequoyah Middle School, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call the DeKalb police department's Major Felony Unit at 770-724-7850.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez