Sources say investigators were exploring Friday the possibility that the Nicaraguan consul general, who was stabbed to death in the Bronx the previous day, was in a violent domestic dispute.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Cesar Mercado, 34, was stabbed 12 times in the abdomen and had a slashed throat. Mercado's body was discovered Thursday morning in a pool of blood inside his apartment on Grand Concourse in Tremont.

"There was no indication of a struggle broken furniture, that sort of thing," said Kelly. "A lot of blood, two knives found in the bathroom sink. There are several prints that are being analyzed now, prints found in the blood, and the victim had no shoes but had socks on."

The city medical examiner says an initial autopsy on Mercado was inconclusive, but Kelly described some of the wounds as "hesitation wounds" that appear to have been self-inflicted.

Police sources also tell the Daily News the diplomat may have killed himself after finding out he was HIV positive.

"A hesitation wound is a wound that could potentially have been made by the individual himself,” said Kelly. “If, in fact, there is a wound from an assailant, it’s generally very direct and it's in one motion. These wounds were described to me as not being in one motion."

Mercado was also found clutching human hair in both hands, suggesting that there was a struggle.

The consul general's driver told police he was picking up Mercado for the United Nations General Assembly, when he went upstairs, discovered the apartment door was unlocked and saw that Mercado was dead.

Police said Mercado was last seen alive at about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

A neighbor said he heard noises coming from Mercado's apartment that night, but Kelly said those claims may not be credible.

Mercado's friends and colleagues at the Nicaraguan consulate said he was a kind man and they could not imagine him taking his own life.

"It's a very strange situation. I can't say he could do that or no. We don't know that," said Marlene Gonzalez, the president of the Nicaraguan Humanitarian Foundation. "The only thing that I know, I'm still in shock about the news, because he was an excellent person for the Nicaraguan community. I have a very good memory of him."

Police were also examining the diplomat's BlackBerry and security cameras from the area. They said the security camera in Mercado's building was not working.

Mercado's body will be returned to Nicaragua for burial.