An autopsy has been unable to determine the cause of rapper Heavy D's sudden death. A postmortem has been ruled inconclusive, with coroners deferring further judgment until they receive a toxicology report.
The Los Angeles county coroner's office has already stated that no illegal drugs were found at the rapper's home, although he had been prescribed medication for a cough. Recently returned from London, Heavy D was reportedly suffering from pneumonia.
Heavy D, 44, died on 8 November, after returning home from shopping. He collapsed outside his apartment in Beverly Hills and was taken to hospital. While his death is understood to have been "medically related", toxicology tests are common in cases where a relatively healthy person dies unexpectedly. "We need to see what's in his system," coroner's spokesman Ed Winter told the LA Times. Results are not expected for several weeks.
The family of Heavy D has announced a public wake will take place on Thursday, in Mount Vernon, New York, where the rapper was raised. "To us, Hev was the one who made us laugh, cry, sing, dance and turn a frown upside down," they said. "We are devastated by Hev's passing." A funeral is scheduled for Friday, with eulogies anticipated from two African-American icons: Sean "Diddy" Combs and Reverend Al Sharpton. A memorial website has been set up at rememberheavyd.com.
