Erick Morillo Died from Accidental Drug Overdose, Medical Examiner Rules

The death of international house music star Erick Morillo, which sent shockwaves throughout the dance music community this past September, has been officially listed as “accidental” by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department.

The report states that Morillo died from “Acute Ketamine Toxicity” and lists methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and cocaine as contributing factors in his sudden demise. Read the official medical report here.

Erick Morillo was found dead on Tuesday, September 1st, at his Miami Beach residence after officers responded to a 911 call to his home that morning. The circumstances surrounding Morillo’s passing were immediately placed under investigation, since the DJ, producer and label owner was supposed to appear in court later that week regarding the alleged sexual assault of a female DJ. Morillo was arrested and charged with sexual battery in August of 2020. While he denied all accusations initially, he eventually turned himself in on August 6th, 2020.

The house music icon’s death sparked extensive discussions from the dance music community, much of which roused the community to come together with new campaigns to help address and end sexual abuse in the music industry. However, much of the online reaction highlighted the uglier side to online grief — one that systematically erases victims of sexual misconduct while pretending to acknowledge the worst of Morillo’s behavior.

Abby Lowe discussed these issues in a recent opinion piece. Read that here.

[via: Miami New Times]