February 11, 2008

Brad Renfro Died Of Accidental Heroin Overdose

By Chris Harris, with additional reporting by Larry Carroll (MTV.com)

The Los Angeles County Coroner's investigation into the untimely death of actor Brad Renfro has been closed, and the cause of death has been ruled "acute heroin/morphine intoxication." According to a spokesperson for the coroner's office, Renfro injected the drugs, and his death was accidental.

The 25-year-old former child actor was found dead in his Los Angeles home on January 15. The official cause of his death remained a mystery for nearly a month, but on Friday afternoon (February 8), the coroner's office received the results of Renfro's toxicology screening.

Early speculation suggested that drugs may have been involved, as Renfro had been plagued for nearly a decade by drug abuse and run-ins with the law.

Police said Renfro had been drinking with friends the night before his body was discovered by roommates, who called paramedics to his home after finding him unresponsive. Renfro was pronounced dead just hours later.

The actor was laid to rest on January 21 in his native Knoxville, Tennessee. Just hours after the funeral, TMZ reported that Renfro had a young son (who lives in Japan with the boy's mother), listed as "Y Renfro" in a local paper's obituary for the actor.

Renfro was best known for a skyrocketing career that began with a central role in the 1994 John Grisham legal thriller "The Client," a part he landed when he was 11 years old. He later went on to star in such films as "Sleepers," "Apt Pupil," "Deuces Wild" and "Bully." Most recently, Renfro filmed "The Informers," with co-stars Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger and Billy Bob Thornton. The movie is set to open later this year.