Coroner says R&B singer Sean Levert died of natural causes

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Coroner says R&B singer Sean Levert died of natural causes, rules out foul play

CLEVELAND: A coroner ruled Thursday that R&B singer Sean Levert died of natural causes after falling ill in jail, and his family reacted by saying his death possibly could have been prevented.

Levert suffered from various ailments, the Cuyahoga County coroner's ruling said. Attorneys for Levert's widow say sheriff's department records they reviewed show he wasn't given his anti-anxiety medication while in jail or seen by a doctor, which might have prevented his death.

Levert's family had questioned officials' account that Levert had been acting strangely and was restrained before he fell ill. In his ruling, county Coroner Frank Miller ruled out foul play or trauma.

Miller said Levert died from complications of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs. The coroner said Levert also suffered from other conditions, including heart disease, high blood sugar and withdrawal from alprazolam, a drug used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks that is better known under the trade name Xanax.

After Levert died, jail warden Kevin McDonough said he had been sick and guards were watching him because he had been acting strangely. When he started pounding on his cell door, guards strapped him in a restraint chair, McDonough said. Levert's breathing became shallow and he was taken to the hospital.

"He was exhibiting classic signs of Xanax withdrawal," attorney Daryl Dennie said. "A doctor would have been able to recognize these problems. Had he been able to see one in that week's time things could have been different."

IHT

Jail and restraint chair is a proven deadly combination, adding drug withdrawal and a fall should provide more clues.

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1. "high blood sugar"

Why didn't they say diabetes? Was he being treated?

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2. Most new inmates are forced into a drug-free holidays of prescribed medicines/drug withdrawals. nt

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3. It sounds like this guy had numerous serious medical problems

That required attention. Neglect of any/all of the surely contributed to his death.