Aaron Carter’s Family Speaks Out on His Cause of Death

Aaron Carter’s family is shedding light on what they think to be his cause of death two months after his sudden passing at the age of 34. Although no official cause of death has been released, Carter’s fiancée, Melanie Martin, and mother, Jane Carter, told TMZ that he didn’t die from drowning and instead believe that he died from a drug overdose. They told the outlet that the L.A. County Coroner’s Office told them that despite Carter being found dead in his bathtub, there was no water found in Aaron’s lungs, which rules out drowning as a potential cause of death.

Martin and Jane say the coroner is still awaiting toxicology results to determine what drugs were in his system when he died. Police said at the time of Carter’s death that prescription pills and drug paraphernalia were found in his bedroom. Martin and Jane say that the family wants law enforcement to investigate an alleged drug deal the night of Carter’s death.

Martin told the outlet that she found text messages on Carter’s phone telling him he owed $800 for an unknown substance. She claims the conversation includes Carter telling the person he didn’t need the substance anymore, to which the person responded that he still owed them money. She said the conversation ended after Carter asked the person if he was being threatened. The family reportedly believes Carter may have met with the person he was texting before his death; they fear that he took a substance that could have ultimately killed him.

The former child star was found dead in the bathtub at his house in Lancaster, California on Nov. 5. Jane told TMZ in November that when it came to memorializing her son, she and her family had plans to scatter his ashes in the ocean of the Florida Keys sometime in the spring alongside some of the remains from his late sister, Leslie Carter. She said that some of the siblings’ ashes have been put aside so that they can later be buried with her upon her death.

Carter was survived by his and Martin’s 1-year-old son, Prince. A little over a month after Carter’s tragic death, Martin regained full custody of Prince following a months-long custody battle. Prior to his passing, Carter was dealing with custody issues with Martin; it was previously reported that the former couple lost custody. Prince was placed under the care of Martin’s mother, with whom he lived from September until December when Martin re-gained custody.