The cause of death for former American Idol contestant Doug Kiker has been officially disclosed.
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The singer’s death was attributed to the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, methadone, and amphetamines, along with recent cocaine use, according to the City and County of Denver Medical Examiner, as reported by TMZ. The medical examiner also ruled the death an accident.
In the days before his death, Doug Kiker was hospitalized after a passerby in Denver saw him on the street and called emergency services. His death was confirmed by his sisters, Angela Evans and Donna Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez, in Facebook posts shared on March 12. He was 32.
“Today I got the call that no one wants to get. We lost an amazing person today,” Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez wrote at the time.
“He had the biggest smile and knew how to make you laugh. I know I didn’t raise him, but I never stopped loving him,” she continued. “My parents did an amazing job with him. Douglas Kiker, you will forever be missed. Fly high. Say hey to grandma.”
“It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of my brother Douglas Kiker,” Evans wrote. “He was sooo loved and will be missed by so many! [You’re] singing with the [angels] now Bubba. Please pray for our family as we go [through] this very difficult time.”
Doug Kiker Won Over American Idol Fans with a Rascal Flatts Tune
Meanwhile, Kiker was famously known as “The Singing Garbage Man,” and became a fan favorite during Season 18 of American Idol. His heartfelt rendition of Rascal Flatts’ “God Bless This Broken Road” moved judge Katy Perry to tears.
A GoFundMe campaign had been created to support Kiker’s family with funeral expenses. According to TMZ, Kiker is survived by his two children, whom he shared with his former fiancée, Valerie Cook.