(Facebook profile picture of Thu Yain "Roy" Kyaw)

Update: 8:00 a.m 10/29--L.A. Coroner's Office said Kyaw's report has been deferred and the investigation is pending. Toxicology reports also take over a week to complete.

The recent spate of alcohol-related incidents at the University of Southern California took a dramatic turn Sunday night when the body of a sophomore was found dead from possible alcohol poisoning. 

The L.A. County Coroner’s office said preliminary findings show that 22-year-old Thu Yain “Roy” Kyaw died from "acute alcohol toxicity" after his roommates found him at 9:30 p.m. Sunday lying facedown and unconscious in his Monte Carlo apartment bedroom a few blocks from the USC campus.

Kyaw, a Singapore-born sophomore at the Marshall School of Business, had been missing for a few days after he was last seen leaving a party late Thursday night, according to a resident of the apartment complex who asked to remain anonymous.

SEE ALSO: Hundreds Recall USC Student Thu Yain 'Roy' Kyaw's Zest For Life

In a statement, USC Marshall School Dean James Ellis said Kyaw was an "outstanding student" who left a “positive impact” on friends, family and faculty members.

NBC News also reported that Kyaw’s cause of death might be alcohol related but stressed that the coroner's findings were only preliminary and not yet finalized or definitiive.

Two student neighbors at the Monte-Carlo apartments told Neon Tommy in separate interviews that Kyaw had been found dead in his bed and had suffocated on his own vomit. This sort of suffocation is not unusual in cases of excessive drinking, but there has been no official confirmation in Kyaw's  case from the coroner or the L.A.P.D.

Kyaw's brother, a senior at the Marshall School of Business, posted a Facebook message regarding his younger brother's death. Part of it read:

"I just want everyone to remember that accidents do happen, and death is as inevitable a part of life as life itself - his departure just came a lot sooner than we expected. He has gone on to a better place now and is resting in peace smiling, because all of you have made his life up to this point worth living."

SEE ALSO: USC Marshall Student Found Dead

The sophomore’s death comes a few days before a planned round-table discussion to address partying and excessive drinking at the university. The controversy over rampant student drinking erupted Oct. 12 when a visiting Loyola Marymount University student sustained life-threatening injuries after she fell from a table at a fraternity party celebrating a USC football game.

The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs said that was "the worst weekend of the semester" after seven people were hospitalized for over-intoxication. There were  an additional six alcohol-related incidents this past weekend, though a few involved non-USC students, according to USC Department of Public Safety records.

Right after an announced "crack down on Greek Row" two weeks ago, USC Vice Provost of Student Affairs, Dr. Ainsley Carry, said it was time to have a public conversation about USC students' relationship with alcohol.

"It has gotten out of control and we need to create an answer," said Carry. "What is it about USC's environment that is making kids think they have to black out to have fun?"

Carry also said that USC is not alone in this problem. Binge drinking and alcohol-related hospitalizations are common at hundreds of college campuses across the country.

"Numbers of medical transports and binge drinking is on the rise nationally," said Carry, who has also worked at Temple University, Auburn University and the University of Arkansas.

SEE ALSO: USC, Occidental Admit Underreported Sexual Assaults

And while USC's Greek system has received the brunt of the recent publicity, Carry says that alcohol is a culture not just synonymous with fraternity and sorority parties.

"We can't focus all this on The Row because if we clamp down there [the problem] will pop up somewhere else," he said. "LAPD did a bust at 901[off-campus bar] a couple weeks ago and found 25 students with fake IDs. If we try to stamp out Greek row, other outlets explode."

After reading through all university security records from the month of September, Neon Tommy counted over 40 alcohol-related incidents. Less than half occurred at or nearby Greek-affiliated houses.

Many of the reports detailed unresponsive, vomiting or belligerent students.

A report from Sept. 27th ,10:50 p.m. Parking Lot C:

 DPS officers responded to an intoxicated student who passed out in a vehicle parked at the location. The student was incoherent when contacted by the officers, so an LAFD RA unit was requested. RA Unit #15 responded and examined the student, then transported her to California Hospital for medical treatment.

Another from Sept. 14, 12:00 a.m. University Residence Hall:

DPS officers responded to an intoxicated student who was reported to be unable to care for himself. The student had been vomiting and was incoherent when contacted by the officers...

Officers also found students passed out in storm drains, lobbies and on curbs.

In a phone call two weeks before Kyaw died, Carry stressed the need for a comprehensive plan to tackle the university's rising number of alcohol-related student hospitalizations. He noted gravely that the issue "was getting dangerously close to being life-threatening."

The university town hall meeting on alcohol use is slated for Tuesday night.

Reach Editor-in-Chief Brianna Sacks here.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story carried a headline saying the cause of death was apparently alcohol related. This reflected a preliminary finding by the coroner. The definitive cause has yet to be finalized.