MEDFORD, N.J., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- An independent medical examiner hired by the widow of Billy Mays says cocaine likely did not play a part in the U.S. television pitchman's death this summer.
Dr. William Manion of Medford, N.J., said Mays' body revealed a symptom of cocaine use but that is likely not enough to support a Florida coroner's conclusion the 50-year-old's death was linked to cocaine use, People.com reported Friday.
"I look for an enlarged heart, inflammation of the heart and damage to the kidneys, brain and liver in a chronic cocaine user," Manion said. "I found a 50-year-old, overweight (225 lbs.) man with only one symptom of cocaine use, and that was the thickening of the left ventricle of his heart."
Manion did not physically examine Mays' body, instead he reviewed the autopsy report, People magazine reported.
Mays' widow, Deborah, hired Manion after disputing the coroner's findings on the cause of her husband's death June 28.
"Billy's family never agreed with the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's conclusion that cocaine use contributed to Bill's death," she said in a statement.
