Cocaine Contributed to Billy Mays' Death, Autopsy Says
An official autopsy report found that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed TV pitchman Billy Mays in June, but his family is considering getting another look at the results.
The 50-year-old television personality was found unresponsive in bed by his wife in their Tampa home on June 28, and the medical examiner’s office determined that he had a heart attack in his sleep. However, cocaine was also listed as a contributory cause of death.
The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release.
The autopsy showed that Mays had used cocaine in the days preceding his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died, and the toxicology report could not indicate the frequency of his cocaine use.
“We were totally unaware of any non-prescription drug usage and are actively considering an independent evaluation of the autopsy results," Mays' family said in a statement. The family also said that the information was unnecessary and obscured the conclusion that Mays suffered from “chronic, untreated hypertension.”
The toxicology tests also showed therapeutic amounts of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam. Mays had suffered hip problems and was scheduled for hip-replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.
Longtime friend and colleague AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of the "As Seen on TV" product company Telebrands, said Mays never exhibited any signs of drug use and was always prepared for his many commericial shoots. "I'm just shocked," he said. "He was the model of a responsible citizen."