Rapper Juice WRLD’s Cause Of Death Still Undetermined, Medical Examiner Says

The cause of death of Juice WRLD, a 21-year-old musician who died Sunday, remains undetermined, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

“Additional studies are required to establish the cause and manner of death” for the musician, whose real name is Jarad A. Higgins, the office said in a statement to HuffPost.

On Sunday, TMZ first reported Juice WRLD suffered a seizure in Chicago’s Midway airport after deplaning a private flight from California. Chicago law enforcement sources told the Chicago Tribune Monday that Juice WRLD “suffered convulsions and went into cardiac arrest” on Sunday morning as officers searched his and his entourage’s luggage for guns and drugs. According to the Tribune, the artist awoke after an agent administered the emergency opioid treatment Narcan, which is frequently used to treat overdoses. He was later pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center.

The medical examiner’s office said more studies ― including cardiac pathology, neuropathology, toxicology and histology ― are needed before determining the cause of death.

Authorities found 41 “vacuum-sealed” bags of marijuana and six bottles of prescription codeine cough syrup while searching the group’s luggage, but no drug charges have been filed, according to the Tribune. Juice WRLD’s girlfriend reportedly told police the artist had no medical conditions, but said he “takes Percocet and has a drug problem.” Percocet is a combination of acetaminophen and oxycodone, and is typically used to treat pain.

Their sources said an investigation into the found drugs is ongoing. 

The Tribune report says Chicago law enforcement officials also found various guns in their search, leading to the arrest of two members of Juice WRLD’s entourage. Henry Dean, who said he’d been working security for Juice WRLD, had a permit to carry a gun in Illinois but was charged with carrying a concealed firearm at an airport and possessing a high-capacity magazine and metal-piercing bullets, police said. Another associate, Christopher Long, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police said the state attorney is charging the men with misdemeanors rather than felonies for the weapons.