The mysterious rehab death of “That ‘70s Show” actress Lisa Robin Kelly has been ruled an accidental overdose, officials said Friday.
The Los Angeles County Coroner said Kelly, 43, died from multiple drug intoxication on Aug. 15 - and that she consumed the substances orally - while reportedly staying at the Pax House Rehab Center in Altadena, Calif.
The coroner did not immediately specify the types of drugs or whether any were administered by her rehab doctors.
Withdrawal medication is often used when patients enter treatment.
Investigators placed an initial security hold on the case but later ruled out foul play, a spokesman with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department previously told the Daily News.
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Another law enforcement source said coroner officials never got a direct call from the facility where Kelly died and only learned of her passing from media reports later that day.
The coroner called the sheriff's department to investigate, and a deputy who responded to the scene said a rehab doctor wanted to sign the death certificate without an autopsy, the source told the News Friday.
“The doctor said he thought it was an embolism, but that’s not how it works,” the source told The News. “Any rehab death has to go through the coroner.”
A full-length autopsy report is expected in the next few weeks and should name the drugs found the actress’ system.
Kelly voluntarily checked herself into the addiction treatment center Aug. 12 to “get her life back on track,” her agent, Craig Wyckoff, previously told The News.
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According to the celebrity website TMZ.com, Kelly was hospitalized with a .34 blood alcohol level just days before her death.
Wycoff said he hoped the full autopsy report would provide answers.
“You can’t tell an embolism by looking at a body. If it’s true the doctor said that, he or she shouldn’t have a medical license,” he told The News last summer.
“If some kind of mistake cost her her life, we want to know,” he said.
A Connecticut native, Kelly played Eric Forman’s beautiful but conniving older sister on the hit Fox sitcom “That ‘70s Show” but left after five seasons.
She later admitted a drinking problem and was arrested multiple times over the last few years for DUI, assault and alleged spousal abuse.
“I think people should remember the life lesson that when you do things to excess, there are consequences. Lisa’s powers didn’t get displayed to their full extent due to her personal problems,” Wycoff said.
ndillon@nydailynews.com
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