TAMPA, FL (CelebrityAccess) — An autopsy has revealed that Paul O'Neill, creator of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, died of a drug overdose.
O'Neill, 61, was found dead in a hotel room on April 5th. While he had a heart condition, his cause of death was due to an overdose of codeine, diazepam and doxylamine, a medical examiner wrote.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Julia Pearson, chief toxicologist with the Medical Examiner's Office said O'Neill had a prescription for the painkiller Tylenol No. 3, which contains the opiate codeine, which was likely to provide pain relief from age-related arthritis in both of his hands and osteoporosis in his back and left arm.
He also had a prescription for Valium, a name-brand version of the anti-anxiety drug diazepam, and he had used an over-the-counter sleep aid, Unisom, that contains doxylamine, Pearson said, per the Times.
While Methadone is commonly prescribed to treat opioid addiction, it is also prescribed as a painkiller, the Times reported.
"With these kind of drugs interacting together, he likely had a very painless death; just fell asleep and never woke up," Pearson told the Times.
