Aaron Carter‘s death has been ruled an accident, more than five months after the singer and reality TV star died at the age of 34.
Carter was found dead at his house in Lancaster, Calif., on Nov. 5, after police responded to a 911 call regarding a male who had drowned in a bathtub. At the time, though the exact cause of Carter’s death was unclear, law enforcement said there was no evidence of foul play.
According to our sister site Variety, the autopsy concluded that Carter’s death was caused by drowning and the effects of inhaling difluoroethane, the main ingredient used in cans of compressed air, and alprazolam, a generic form of Xanax.
Carter released five studio albums over the course of his career, with LØVË serving as the last in 2018. On the TV side of things, Carter appeared on the one-and-done E! reality series House of Carters, which followed the five Carter siblings as they reunited in Los Angeles and worked to revive their careers. He also competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2009 and, throughout the late ’90s and early aughts, appeared as himself on shows like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Lizzie McGuire.
“My heart has been broken today,” Carter’s brother Nick wrote in the wake of his death. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held onto the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.
“Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here,” Nick’s tribute continued. “I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth… God, please take care of my baby brother.”
