Neal E. Boyd, the America’s Got Talent champion who died earlier this month, was reportedly discovered unconscious in his bedroom by his mother while she was checking on him, TMZ reports.
Boyd’s mother, Esther Rogers Boyd, called 911 and said she couldn’t wake her son. When officers arrived to her Sikeston, Missouri home, Neal was reportedly in bed wearing a sleep apnea mask on his face. Emergency responders couldn’t find a pulse and attempted but failed to resuscitate him with CPR.
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Boyd, the opera singer from season 3 of America’s Got Talent, was cremated the day after his death and a private funeral was held a few days later. No autopsy was performed on the 42-year-old as he had a known heart condition and died from heart failure, according to the Scott County coroner.
No illegal narcotics were found in his room and police say there were no signs of foul play, according to the police report obtained by TMZ.
Scott County Coroner Scott Amick told Fox News that a wide array of health issues pertaining to Boyd’s weight contributed to his death, including heart and kidney failure as well as liver disease.
Boyd’s album following his America’s Got Talent victory, My American Dream, reached No. 3 in Billboard’s Top Classical Albums chart, although it debuted at No. 195 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.
Last year, Boyd and his mother were reportedly badly injured in a car accident after he blacked out while driving. The two were reported to be recovering from their injuries.
“It was a very, very, very bad wreck,” Boyd told the Southeast Missourian in February. “[Recovery is] a very slow progress. I shattered a lot of bones, and shattered my hip, which has left me almost unable to use that leg for now. It’s been difficult, because you can’t get up on stage right now, you can’t perform for the audiences and you can’t really do too much recording or traveling.”
He also told the Southeast Missourian that he was planning on releasing a new, “uplifting” album, called In the Middle of it All, in 2019.
“Any time you’re in a moment of struggle, God has a way of coming in and uplifting you,” he said. “You have these ‘down moments,’ whether it be health or physical, like it is now, and it just feels like something great is about to happen once I get back on my feet and back in front of the audience again.
“You never know what’s going to happen next. Just be grateful that you survived. When God’s given you the time to rebuild your spirit and rebuild your body,” the singer said.
