Tom Petty’s death investigated by L.A. County coroner
Musician Tom Petty died Monday after being rushed to the hospital after a cardiac arrest. He was 66.
The Los Angeles County coroner will determine the cause of death for singer-songwriter Tom Petty, officials said Wednesday.
Petty, 66, died Monday at UCLA Medical Center after he became unconscious at his Malibu home. A statement from the performer’s manager said Petty died of cardiac arrest.
Though the singer’s death isn’t considered suspicious, an official determination of the cause of death is the jurisdiction of the coroner, said department spokesman Ed Winter.
The coroner investigates all deaths — even natural ones — unless the decedent has seen a doctor in the last six months.
The death of Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner was not investigated by the coroner because Hefner’s physician saw him regularly before his death and signed Hefner’s death certificate, according to Winter.
Petty’s autopsy was performed Tuesday and results are pending. A toxicology screen of his blood will likely take weeks to finish, delaying the release of the coroner’s report, officials said.
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