The cause of death of Darius Campbell Danesh was "inhalation of chloroethane" and "suffocation", officials have confirmed. Medical examiners ruled his death as an accident.
The former Pop Idol star was found dead in his apartment in Rochester, Minnesota on August 11. News agency PA obtained autopsy documents from the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office that attributed his death to the "toxic" effects of the chemical.
Chloroethane is used in petrol additives, plastics, dyes, pharmaceuticals, topical anaesthetics, and as an industrial refrigerant. Commonly known as ethyl chloride, it became popular as an inhalant street drug in the 1980s.
