Coroner: Juice WRLD died of an accidental drug overdose
CHICAGO — Rapper Juice WRLD died of an accidental overdose of oxycodone and codeine, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Wednesday.
The medical examiner’s announcement several weeks after the 21-year-old rapper, whose given name was Jarad Anthony Higgins, went into convulsions at Midway International Airport on Dec. 8 after he and his entourage arrived on a private plane. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The announcement that the rapper had oxycodone, an opioid that is a pain killer, and codeine in his system follows initial reports that a federal agent who was at the airport to search the plane administered the opioid antidote Narcan to the performer after he’d gone into convulsions.
At November’s Camp Flog Gnaw, Juice Wrld paid tribute to fallen rappers XXXTentacion, Nipsey Hussle, Lil Peep and Mac Miller. On Sunday, he died at age 21.
At the time, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said drug-sniffing dog made a “positive alert”on luggage carts that were loaded with bags from the plane and that a search of the bags revealed bags of suspected marijuana, bottles of prescription cough syrup, firearms and metal-piercing bullets.
Guglielmi said none of the dozen or so people aboard the plane admitted to carrying the drugs. But he said that detectives were conducting a forensic analysis to determine which bags belonged to which passengers, adding that two security guards who were on the plane were arrested for misdemeanor gun charges. A call to Guglielmi on Wednesday to ask if anyone else had been charged was not immediately returned.
A new documentary and album, overseen by the late artist’s mother, chronicle the fast rise and sudden death of influential emo-rapper Lil Peep.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
