A close friend of Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, who reportedly found Brown’s body after her death in 2015, has died of a suspected drug overdose in Mississippi.
TMZ reports that Max Lomas was found unresponsive on a friend’s bathroom floor on Wednesday. The outlet, citing a law enforcement source, also reports that a syringe was found next to Lomas’ body. He was rushed to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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Lomas reportedly spent a significant amount of time with Brown and her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, in the days leading up to her death. He has denied accusations that he was Brown and Gordon’s drug dealer. No charges have been filed in connection with Brown’s death, but her family did win a civil suit against Gordon for $36 million.
Gordon was found “legally responsible” for Brown’s July 2015 death, months after she had been put in a medically induced coma. Lomas reportedly found her intoxicated and drowning in her bathtub.
“We are praising God. This has been a long time coming. But all the judgments in the world won’t bring Krissy back,” a Brown family source shared with PEOPLE at the time of the civil court ruling in 2016. “We miss her every single day. Even when there’s justice, it’s not comfort. She was gone too soon, and we all have to live with that. I hope Nick lives with it every day for the rest of his life, because we sure are.”
Brown’s death came three years after Houston was found accidentally drowned in a bathtub with drug paraphernalia nearby.
While friends and fans alike of Houston’s continue to post tributes to the late “I Will Always Love You” singer, most recently her name was in the news when rapper Kanye West used a photograph of her bathroom for the cover of his collaboration album with Pusha T, DAYTONA.
The image was reportedly secretly taken by one of Houston’s family members and depicts drug paraphernalia strewn around the room. The photo was published by the National Enquirer in 2006.
Amid the drama, Houston’s nephew defended West’s usage of the image, telling Good Morning America that angry fans should be upset with the family member who originally took the image.
Houston’s sister-in-law, Tina Brown (the sister of Houston’s husband Bobby Brown), later said she regretted taking the photo in the first place, adding that she sold it to the Enquirer.
“During the time the picture was taken, in 2006, my sister Whitney and I were at a very low and self-destructive point in our lives, it was not only her mess, it was mine as well,” Brown said. “Together, she and I decided to take the pictures in the bathroom and share with the world, the pain we were going through … it was a united cry for help.”
Photo credit: Kevin Mazur / AMA2009 / Getty Images
