Pop singer Aaron Carter accidentally drowned after ingesting prescription drugs and huffing chemicals, according to the autopsy report released Tuesday by the Los Angeles Country Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Carter, 34, was found unresponsive by a house sitter in a bathtub at his home in Lancaster, California on Nov. 5. The house sitter was told to perform CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene, at which point he was pronounced dead, officials said.
According to the autopsy report, Carter passed out after inhaling difluoroethane and ingesting alprazolam. Difluoroethane is a compressed gas often found in household items such as spray cleaners and alprazolam is a generic form of Xanax.
Carter “became incapacitated while in the bathtub as the drugs took effect, slipping under the surface of the water and ultimately drowning,” the report states.
Cans of “Surf Onn,” an electronics duster, were found scattered around his bedroom and bathroom, along with “multiple bottles of prescription medication.”
Carter rose to fame as a child star, first as a singer (and the younger brother of the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter) and later as an actor in film and television shows like “Lizzie McGuire” and “7th Heaven.”
Carter battled addiction for many years, facing legal troubles and entering rehabilitation while continuing with his music career, according to E!, which also aired the reality show “House of Carters” starring Aaron and Nick.
In September, he entered rehab for the fifth time so he could regain custody of his infant son, Prince, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Carter’s siblings responded to the singer’s death with messages on social media:
“My heart has been broken today,” Nick Carter wrote at the time. “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.”
Carter’s twin sister, Angel, wrote, “To my twin…I loved you beyond measure. You will be missed dearly. My funny, sweet Aaron, I have so many memories of you … and I promise to cherish them. I know you’re at peace now. I will carry you with me until the day I die and get to see you again.”