There was no alcohol or drugs found in Junior Seau’s system when he shot and killed himself at his home in May, according to the autopsy report released by the San Diego County Medical’s Examiner’s Office on Monday.
The girlfriend of the former NFL All-Pro linebacker found his body with a single gunshot wound to the chest.
The 16-page report stated that the body of the former NFL All-Pro linebacker was found to have Zolpidem, which is often found in the sleeping aid Ambien, and traces of the anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen. All of the substances were deemed “consistent with therapeutic use,” wrote Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Nelson.
Perhaps even more mysterious was that the autopsy found Seau’s brain to be normal with no underlying hemorrhaging or contusions. His family has donated some of his brain tissue for research following widespread concerns over whether his 20-year professional football career played some kind of factor in his death.
Questions now remain as to why Seau, 43, chose to kill himself on May 2 at his suburban Oceanside, California home. No suicide note was ever found and friends and family have insisted that Seau never appeared distraught or depressed.
Police investigators said Seau killed himself with an unregistered .357 caliber revolver that had five hollow-point bullets inside. Authorities also found his cell phone lying on his bed, although it was missing its memory chip.
Seau, a former USC All-American, was the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft and went on to become a 12-time Pro Bowler in the NFL.
He sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff, just hours after he’d been arrested for domestic violence following an incident between him and his girlfriend. Seau later insisted that he was never suicidal, but that he’d instead fallen asleep at the wheel. He was never charged in the domestic incident.