Justin Townes Earle’s cause of death has been revealed. According to a post made on his official social media accounts, the 38-year-old singer died of an accidental drug overdose. According to the post, the autopsy revealed traces of fentanyl as well as alcohol and cocaine in Justin’s system. The findings indicate that “usage of fentanyl laced cocaine resulted in an overdose,” according to the post, which you can read in full below.
“Even though Justin was very outspoken and concerned about the opioid epidemic and the dangers of the ‘legal” drugs fed by the pharmaceutical companies, he became the victim of a deadly dose of fentanyl,” Justin’s team wrote on social media. “Illicit drugs laced with fentanyl are causing an enormous rise in overdoses, turning cocaine usage into an even deadlier habit. It only takes a few salt sized granules of fentanyl to cause an overdose. And in most cases, happens so fast that intervention likely could not reverse it.”
Earle’s family announced his death on August 24. Earle had spoken about his prior drug use, including how he’d survived five heroin overdoses by age 21. He had more recently spoken about maintaining his sobriety in interviews with multiple outlets.
The son of alt-country singer-songwriter Steve Earle, Earle started playing music as a teenager, performing in his father’s band as well as other acts. He developed his own solo career that began with his 2007 EP Yuma. His final album was 2019’s The Saint of Lost Causes.
Read “Justin Townes Earle Could Write a Helluva Song: Where to Start” on the Pitch.
