NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Detectives are investigating the death of a Brooklyn man whose body was found inside the bathroom of a jewelry store in Tribeca.

Police filled the World of Gold N Diamond on Church Street early Thursday morning searching for clues about 43-year-old Omid Gholian’s final moments.

Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, police said Gholian’s brother went to check on him after not hearing from his brother for two days. He found Gholian with zip ties around his neck inside the bathroom of the family-owned store.

The lights were on inside the store and nothing was taken, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported.

“I bought jewelry for my kids and stuff like that ,” Tribeca resident James Craig told CBS2’s Raegan Medgie. “I knew him very well. We talked. It’s sad, it’s very sad. I can’t believe they killed him.”

“I am very shocked in this area that something like this would happen,” said Long Island resident Peter Hillenbrand. “This is a good area, there are a lot of jewelry stores here. I never heard or seen anything like this happen before.”

Right now, police are investigating this case as a possible homicide.The cause of death appears to be asphyxiation, Medgie reported.

For Craig, news of the jeweler’s death is still not real. He talked about their last conversation a couple weeks ago.

“He used to always tell me, ‘Come into the store, come get something for your wife.’ He used to say to my wife, ‘What are you doing with him?'” he said with a laugh. “He said that to my wife all the time. Yeah, he’s a pretty cool guy.”

Detectives were parked out Gholian’s home in Marina Park where he lived with his mother, at one point looking at a car parked in the driveway while other people came and visited, saying the family is very upset. Neighbors said Gholian was quiet and mostly kept to himself.

“I figured that it was him, my heart sunk,” Craig said. “I came back this morning after work to see, to pay my condolences, to pray and everything.”

“He was very nice. Very, very nice. I mean, just open-hearted. It’s like if someone invited you to their house, your door is always open,” another former client said.

Police are looking for security footage from inside and outside the store. Officials say they believe there was no forced entry, the shop wasn’t ransacked and nothing was taken.

Police also say Gholian did not appear to be beaten or tortured.

The medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.