Carrie Fisher Autopsy Reveals Cocaine, Heroin, And Ecstasy In Her System

Carrie Fisher reportedly had multiple illicit substances in her system previous to her death in December, according to a coroner's investigation.

The Associated Press reports that her autopsy revealed that Fisher had traces of cocaine in her body when she became ill on a plane on Dec. 23, four days before she died. The report released Monday (June 19) states that Fisher may have taken cocaine three days before that flight.

The investigation also revealed traces of heroin and MDMA (also known as ecstasy), but the coroner could not determine when the Star Wars actress had taken those drugs. The findings were based on toxicology screenings done on samples taken when Fisher arrived at a Los Angeles hospital.

A coroner ruled that Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but a news release sent late last week mentioned that drugs were discovered in her system. The full report only notes the presence of the drugs. "At this time, the significance of cocaine cannot be established in this case," the report states.

It also states that heroin is only detectable in the system for a brief period of time, and investigators couldn't determine when Fisher took it or the ecstasy. "Ms. Fisher suffered what appeared to be a cardiac arrest on the airplane accompanied by vomiting and with a history of sleep apnea," the report states. "Based on the available toxicological information, 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 coroner said a buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries also contributed to Fisher's death.

Her brother, Todd Fisher, told the Associated Press last week that he wasn't surprised that drugs may have been a factor. Fisher had a long battle with drug addiction and mental illness. "I would tell you, from my perspective that there's certainly no news that Carrie did drugs," Todd Fisher said. "I am not shocked that part of her health was affected by drugs."

Todd Fisher also pointed out that his sister also smoked and took many prescription medications. "If you want to know what killed her, it's all of it," he said.

As this story develops, take a look back at some of the actors we've already lost in 2017.