Autopsy shows Carrie Fisher had cocaine, heroin in system

News Hour:


“Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher had traces of cocaine, heroin and party drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy, in her system when she died suddenly in December, according to a full autopsy report released on Monday.

The autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner could not ascertain what effect the cocaine and other drugs may have had on her system.

Coroner’s officials ruled on Friday that the death of the “Star Wars” actress was due to sleep apnea and other causes.

Fisher died at age 60 on Dec. 27, four days after she went into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles.

She had a long history of cocaine addiction in the 1980s and she also suffered from bipolar disorder. Although Fisher had spoken openly about her battle with addiction, it was not known that she had ongoing issues with drugs.

Fisher had likely taken the cocaine some 72 hours before she was admitted to the hospital in Los Angeles, according to Monday’s autopsy and toxicology report.

“The significance of the cocaine (regarding the cause of death) cannot be established at this time,” the report said. “We cannot establish the significance of the multiple substances that were detected in Ms. Fisher’s blood and tissue with regard to the cause of death.”

The officials said they could not pinpoint the time of exposure to the small amount of heroin found in Fisher’s system, along with the MDMA and other opiates.

But they said the drugs can suppress breathing and respiration and that Fisher had a history of sleep apnea.

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