Cause of death for Michael Yuchnitz revealed

Michael Yuchnitz, a prominent local businessman and TV pitchman who was awaiting trial for allegedly trying to hire a hit man to kill his wife, died Saturday of heart problems related to his lung cancer, the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said.

The official cause of Yuchnitz's death was cardiomyopathy, with lung cancer listed as a contributing factor. The medical examiner on Sunday ruled it a natural death.

Yuchnitz, 60, was found dead Saturday morning in the parking lot of the InTown Suites in the 6400 block of Bandera Road after he apparently collapsed in a slightly hidden area between a car and landscaping, said Leon Valley Police Chief Randall Wallace. A maintenance man discovered Yuchnitz's body as he did his usual rounds at the extended stay hotel, Wallace said.

Yuchnitz was unresponsive and pronounced dead at 9:07 a.m. He had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer, his attorney David Christian said.

Yuchnitz was known as a colorful TV presence in commercials for his My Econo's $39.95 Optical stores but gained notoriety when arrested in October 2010 for solicitation of capital murder.

Michael Yuchnitz, owner of the My Econo $39.95 Optical retail glasses chain, poses in his first store on the Southwest Side Thursday, January 3, 2002. Michael Yuchnitz, owner of the My Econo $39.95 Optical retail glasses chain, poses in his first store on the Southwest Side Thursday, January 3, 2002. Photo: Express-News File Photo Photo: Express-News File Photo Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Cause of death for Michael Yuchnitz revealed 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

An arrest affidavit in the case quoted an informant as telling police the eyewear salesman agreed to pay $10,000 to have his then-wife, Tina Yuchnitz, killed.

A criminal trial had been scheduled for March 2014, according to court records. Yuchnitz was out on bail pending trial.

Tina Yuchnitz filed for divorce and a protective order the day police told her about the alleged plot to have her killed.

The couple's high-profile divorce proceedings began in February 2012 and included accusations from both sides of abuse and bad behavior. Capping two weeks of testimony, a jury decided that each had inflicted severe emotional distress on the other and recommended a judge split their assets 50-50.

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