Coroner Releases Cause Of Actor Chris Penn's Death
Penn Died From Enlarged Heart, Multiple Medications
UPDATED: 12:17 pm CST February 14,2006
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles County coroner's office said actor Chris Penn's death was accidental.An enlarged heart, also known as nonspecific cardiomyopathy, and the effects of a mix of multiple medications together killed Penn. Chief coroner investigator Craig Harvey said, "There is absolutely no indication that this is anything but an accident." Penn, the younger brother of actor Sean Penn, was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium Jan. 24, but the results of his autopsy and toxicology tests were not released until Monday. Harvey said Penn had several prescriptions, including promethazine with codeine, a highly addictive cough syrup, which featured predominantly in his death. The investigator said they don't know how much he took or when he took it. He said, "There are a lot of 'what ifs' to be factored in." Harvey said a full coroner's report with further details will be available in a few weeks.Penn's heart weighed 700 grams, a few hundred grams more than an average heart. Harvey said Penn was not taking heart medication at the time of his death. Penn's credits include "Footloose," "Reservoir Dogs," "Rush Hour," "Starsky & Hutch," "Mulholland Falls," and "Corky Romano." He was 40.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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