Getty What was Taylor Hawkins' cause of death?
What is the cause of death for Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died at age 50 in a Bogota, Colombia, hotel room?
Colombian police say that’s not determined, but they revealed, “the death could be related to the consumption of drugs,” according to the Mirror, citing translations from Colombian newspapers.
According to CBS News, Hawkins had 10 substances in his system, including “marijuana, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines,” per the Colombian Attorney General. Daily Mail reported that his heart weighed twice that of a normal man’s heart.
The Metropolitan Police of Bogota said in the statement, according to Mirror: “The cause of death has yet to be established. According to those close to him, the death could be related to the consumption of drugs.” City Paper Bogota reported that this account originated from El Tiempo, which claims National Police’s judicial and forensic investigators – CTI – “are investigating whether ‘the consumption of narcotic substances’ may have caused Hawkins’s sudden death.”
What did the original El Tiempo story say on this point? A translation of the Spanish-language article reveals,
A preliminary police report indicates that ‘the cause of death is yet to be established, according to versions of relatives, the death could be associated with the consumption of narcotic substances.’
The story adds:
The version of the possible overdose as the cause of Hawkins’ death has not been confirmed by any medical authority so far and only the results of the forensic tests will determine the real causes of the Foo Fighters drummer’s death.
According to NBC News, the Foo Fighters band were scheduled to perform in Colombia “for the first time in three years at the Festival Estére.”
Daily Mail reported that Luis Carlos Velez, the Bogota-based director of radio station FM, said: “A police officer who entered the room told prosecutors he saw a ‘cocaine-like powder’ in Taylor Hawkins’ room. Drug use has not been confirmed yet.”
In the room, Colombian authorities found “an empty beer can, an opened bottle of vodka, a Coca-Cola bottle and some other articles which are being analysed by authorities,” Velez said, according to Daily Mail.
Here’s what you need to know:
Hawkins Complained of Chest Pains Before Dying, Authorities Say
#ATENCIÓN
Con respecto al fallecimiento del músico estadounidense Taylor Hawkins en la localidad de Chapinero, que se produjo este viernes 25 de marzo en horas de la noche, informamos:
Police in Bogota released a press statement on the death.
The press release, which is in Spanish, says that Hawkins died on the evening of Friday, March 25, 2022, in a hotel in the town of Chapinero in Bogota. An ambulance was sent to the hotel after Bogota’s emergency center received a report that there was a patient with chest pains, the release says.
However, when the first responders arrived they found “no response” and the “patient was declared deceased,” the release says.
“The District Department of Health mourns the death of this talented musician and drummer, widely recognized internationally for his work,” Colombian health officials said in a statement, according to NBC News. “Besides, the entity sends its message of condolences to the family, colleagues and followers.”
The Colombian Attorney General Promised an Investigation
Desde el momento en que #Fiscalía conoció hechos por muerte del ciudadano extranjero Taylor Hawkins, baterista de banda Foo Fighters, quien se hospedaba en hotel en norte de Bogotá, se destacó equipo de fiscales e investigadores para atender actos urgentes y apoyar investigación.
In a tweet, the Attorney General of Colombia promised an investigation into Hawkins’ death.
“From the moment #Fiscalía became aware of the death of foreign citizen Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the band Foo Fighters, who was staying in a hotel in northern Bogotá, a team of prosecutors and investigators was assigned to attend to urgent events and support investigations,” the office tweeted.
According to City Paper Bogota, Hawkins “was found dead in his suite at the Casa Medina Four Seasons Hotel in Bogotá’s Chapinero locality.”
The band confirmed Hawkins’ death on Twitter, saying, “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
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