Musician’s Death Laid to Overdose
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Blues musician Paul Butterfield, who was found dead May 4 in his North Hollywood apartment, was the victim of an accidental drug overdose, said an autopsy report of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office released Friday.
“The death certificate will say ‘acute intoxication with multiple drugs,’ ” coroner’s spokesman Bill Gold said.
The autopsy report said that “comprehensive laboratory tests revealed the presence of significant levels of morphine (heroin) . . ., codeine, the tranquilizer Librium and a trace of alcohol. The death has been ruled accidental.”
Butterfield, 44, who grew up in Chicago, was a harmonica player who popularized the blues with rock audiences in the 1960s.
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