Déby was found dead by a security guard in his apartment building's parking garage in Courbevoie, a suburb of Paris, on July 2, 2007.[1][5] Due to the apparently violent nature of his death, French authorities began investigating it as murder.[6] An autopsy indicated that Déby, who was covered in white powder, died due to asphyxiation, probably from the powder, which was thought to have been sprayed from a fire extinguisher found near his body.