While the majority of celebrity autopsy reports contain few surprises, sometimes the findings
made by coroners are more revealing than the death itself.
From crazy drug cocktails to injuries too severe to imagine, here are the most disturbing
things that have been uncovered in celebrity autopsy reports.
Johnny Lewis
He built a reputation as a new talent with appearances in Smallville, The O.C., and Sons
of Anarchy.
But, despite being popular with fans of the biker show, Johnny Lewis wanted out.
After quitting Sons of Anarchy, Lewis fought an unsuccessful custody battle over his daughter
and was repeatedly arrested for assault.
It was then that he booked out an LA mansion retreat called the Writers' Villa, operated
by 81-year-old Cathy Davis.
But in 2012, police were called to the villa, and found Lewis dead in the driveway.
LA Mag reported,
"[Police] noted that Lewis's left eye socket was caved in.
His skull was smashed just to the left of center.
He had plunged from either the second floor or the roof and died instantly."
But before his fall, investigators believe Lewis beat Davis and her cat to death.
The initial assumption was that Lewis was on drugs at the time, but the autopsy revealed
he was not.
Cory Monteith
In 2013, Glee fans gathered to pay tribute to Cory Monteith, who died alone in a Vancouver
hotel room at age 31.
The actor died from a toxic reaction caused by high levels of alcohol and heroin, but
those close to him claimed he had been trying to talk about his substance abuse for years.
"I felt like I had to step in at some point and relate to people my experience, and relate
to people the truth of, you know, my life and where I come from."
Monteith had been candid about his past on several occasions, telling Parade that at
one stage, he was abusing,
"[…] anything and everything, as much as possible."
According to the coroner's report, the actor was found with,
"[…] a spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle.
There were also two empty champagne bottles and multiple glasses located on a nearby table."
Heath Ledger
He passed away before he could reap the rewards of his painstaking portrayal of The Joker
in 2008's The Dark Knight.
But for his efforts, Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded the Oscar for best supporting actor.
His father remembered in the doc Heath Ledger: Too Young To Die,
"He pretty well locked himself up in a hotel and his apartment for a month or so."
The documentary gave us a glimpse into the journal Ledger kept, in which the actor scrawled
the words, "Bye Bye."
Many believed that playing The Joker killed Ledger.
But what really killed him, according to the New York City medical examiner, was accidental
intoxication due to the abuse of six separate prescription medications.
Michael Jackson
Perhaps the most anticipated autopsy in the history of celebrity culture was that of the
King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
On June 25, 2009 he was found in his bed, not breathing, by his personal physician Conrad
Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011.
According to People,
"[…] prosecutors portrayed Murray, 58, as a reckless doctor who, for $150,000 a month
[…] gave the King of Pop a nightly drip of propofol, an unpredictable and potentially
fatal anesthetic."
But that wasn't the only drug found in Jackson's system.
Reports revealed that the pop legend was operating on a cocktail of professional-grade sedatives
and, according to a physician via CNN,
"These drugs have no place in an unmonitored setting or in unskilled hands."
The autopsy was performed by Dr. Christopher Rogers who said,
"There was no indication from the autopsy that there was anything anatomically wrong
with him that would lead to premature death."
Carrie Fisher
For Star Wars fans, Christmas 2016 marked the sudden passing of Carrie Fisher.
The 60-year-old actress was on a December 23rd flight from London to LA when she went
into cardiac arrest, and died not long after being rushed to the hospital.
She wrote herself into pop culture history playing Princess Leia, but while fans of Fisher
were aware that she liked to party, the results of her autopsy were still disturbing.
According to the LA Times, Fisher's toxicology review found,
"[…] evidence of cocaine, methadone, MDMA, alcohol and opiates […] There was an exposure
to heroin."
Fisher's brother, Todd, spoke up after the autopsy was made public, telling ET,
"I would tell you, from my perspective that there's certainly no news that Carrie did
drugs.
If you want to know what killed her, it's all of it."
Paul Walker
In 2013, Fast and Furious franchise star Paul Walker was killed when the Porsche Carrera
GT he was riding in, crashed at speeds of about 100 miles per hour and nearly broke
in half before it exploded into flames.
The driver, Roger Rodas, was also killed.
According to the Daily Mail, the LA County Coroner revealed that the actor was found
in a defensive position and the official cause of death read:
"[…] combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries […]"
But according to his autopsy report, Walker also suffered multiple broken bones, and his
body was severely charred.
Perhaps the most disturbing finding, according to the Mail, was that Walker,
"[…] could have taken a few breaths after impact as bits of soot were found in his trachea."
No drugs were found in either man's system.
Amy Winehouse
Many predicted the premature death of Amy Winehouse, including the singer herself.
Winehouse burst onto the scene in 2003, with her debut album Frank, and her follow up record
in 2006, Back to Black, made her a star on the world stage.
But as her career skyrocketed, Winehouse was privately spiraling out of control.
On July 23, 2011, she was found dead in her bed with three empty vodka bottles discarded
nearby.
According to The Guardian,
"Winehouse had 416 mg of alcohol per decilitre in her blood, enough to make her comatose
and depress her respiratory system."
Friends of the singer said that she had been acting quote "pretty normal for Amy" at the
time, but the warning signs had always been there.
"They were being the good guys, by just steppin in and strong-arming me into a rehabilitation
center, but I just didn't really need it."
In 2007, after suffering from what was described as a series of drug-induced seizures, Winehouse
reportedly told her mother that her days were numbered.
Mom Janis Winehouse told the Daily Mail,
"It's almost as though she's created her own ending."
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please call the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration's 24/7 National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
That's 1-800-662-4357.