Police were called to a house in Middlesborough on Thursday morning, where the body of Kelvin Hewitt was discovered.
In March last year police were called to investigate reports of a man in a ‘distressed state’ by the side of the A66.
The dual carriageway was then closed as it emerged the victim had had his penis cut off.
Following the incident, 40-year-old Kelvin was placed in an induced coma at James Cook University Hospital, and released 2 weeks later.
A man was arrested on suspicion of the assault - but he was later released without charge.
‘The death of the man is not being treated as suspicious at this time’ said a spokesperson for police.
‘A post-mortem will take place this afternoon.’
A former colleague of Mr Hewitt paid tribute to his friend, saying he will be sorely missed in the community.
‘There will be a lot of people at his funeral, he was a really popular bloke.’