Brandon’s death was just as shocking. He was only 28 when died on the set of the film The Crow after a prop gun mistakenly fired a semi-live round into him. The autopsy showed a .44-caliber bullet in Brandon’s spine, in fact having pierced his abdomen despite the fact that it was supposed to be safe. Brandon was rushed to the emergency room where surgeons worked for hours to save his life. They even ended up transfusing over 60 pints of blood into him - enough for five grown men. But, they were unsuccessful. He died after his co-star, actor Michael Massee, fired at him with a prop gun.

The autopsy, conducted in Colombia where Hawkins passed away, showed a panel of 10 different drugs in his system upon his death, including antidepressants, opiods, and supposedly heroin. It also apparently found that he had a severely enlarged heart of over 600 grams (~1.3 pounds). 

Her autopsy gave more details including the fact that “cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, marijuana, alprazolam (Xanax), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), and diphenhydramine (Benadryl)” were all found in her system. Houston’s official cause of death was “drowning due to cocaine use and atherosclerotic heart disease.” Even more tragic, the coroner found that she had been developing emphysema and would not have been able to sing at her normal caliber at the time of her death.

Fisher died around Christmas in 2016 after going into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles. While everyone on the plane did their best to help her until they could land, she died shortly after being rushed to the hospital. Her autopsy showed that she had a combination of alcohol, opiates, methadone, cocaine, and MDMA in her system. It also showed that “there was an exposure to heroin,” but the date and time of usage could not be concluded by officials. Fisher’s official cause of death was undetermined, but heart disease and drug use were cited.

Even more tragic, Fisher’s mother, legendary actress Debbie Reynolds died just a few days later. Many of their family believe that Reynolds died of a broken heart over Fisher.

Bryant was fatally injured upon impact. The chopper caught fire, preventing any of the passengers to survive. Bryant suffered severe trauma to his head, chest, and abdomen, with significant burns covering 30% of his body. Human remains from the crash were scattered over 500 yards, larger than two football fields, while a magnesium fire erupted. The majority of the victims had to be scientifically identified because their wounds were so extreme. Bryant was partially identified by his skin tone and tattoos on his arm.

Everyone in the house was stabbed to death. Tate’s autopsy showed that she had been stabbed 16 times before she was finally hanged. The worst part of Tate’s murder? She was eight and a half months pregnant. Members of the Manson family were arrested later that year for the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. This led investigators to put together the puzzle pieces and connected them to Tate’s murder.

His autopsy showed that he had an extremely high amount of fentanyl, an opioid almost 50 times more powerful than heroin, in his system. Authorities found that Prince had been taking opioid painkillers for a while, but could not find out if he had been prescribed the medications by a licensed physician. However, many believe that Prince might have been killed, especially as his body was quickly cremated and no other tests could be performed. Many theories state that Prince couldn’t get a legal prescription for the painkillers, and he got involved with an underground drug dealer that ended up killing him.

It is clear that Lennon died from the shooting but his wife, Yoko Ono, never released the autopsy report. So, we’ll never know the exact findings of the report, including if any alcohol or drugs were in his system at the time of his death.

Farley’s autopsy showed that he had a lethal cocktail of cocaine and morphine in his system, a combination usually referred to as a 'speedball'. The autopsy also showed that Farley had advanced atherosclerosis (clogging of arteries), which also contributed to his death. He was only 33 years old at the time of his death, the same age as Belushi when he died. Farley was very open about how much he idolized Belushi, making the circumstances of his death that much spookier.

Winehouse was found in her bed surrounded by three empty vodka bottles in 2011. The autopsy showed “416mg of alcohol per decilitre in her blood.” This made her comatose and depressed her respiratory system. Months before her death, she had drunk herself into a coma and in 2007, she had several drug-induced seizures. After the seizures, she seemed to have predicted her own death when she told her mother that her days were numbered.

The autopsy showed no needle marks on her body and no evidence of a pill in her stomach. There was also no indication of the yellow dye from the Nembutal capsules she supposedly OD’d on. Theories surrounding her death revolve around the mafia, CIA, Area 51, and the Kennedy family. After all, she was known to allegedly have had affairs with both Robert and John F. Kennedy. 

Dr. Thomas Noguchi faced challenges during the autopsy because he did not have access to all the necessary information. He reported that by the time Marilyn Monroe's body arrived at the morgue, the samples from her stomach and intestines were already destroyed. He also noted that although other organs had been dispatched to the toxicology labs, no tests were conducted on them. The comprehensive toxicology analysis was only performed on samples of her blood and liver. This compromised the toxicology reports, leading Dr. Noguchi to suspect that there might be speculation about her being murdered.

Walker’s body was found in a boxer’s stance with his arms locked in front of his face. This is something that is common in burning victims as the thermal effects on muscles cause them to tighten and shorten. Even worse, the autopsy showed that Walker suffered a broken collarbone, jaw, and pelvis in the crash and his body had been badly charred. Last but not least, it appears that he was alive for a few short moments following the crash as there were bits of soot found in his trachea.

Lucille Ball died on April 26, 1989, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, United States. In the days before her death, Ball started experiencing shooting pains in her chest. Her husband called the doctor and tried to talk Ball into going to the hospital. Lucille initially refused, but her daughter managed to persuade her. Ball was given 7 hours of open-heart surgery. Her operation was successful and after a few days, she returned home. She was moved to the guest bedroom downstairs to avoid any unnecessary stress. However, the morning after she got home, her repaired aorta ruptured once again - she was rushed into hospital but on this occasion, the doctors couldn’t save her. She was laid to rest on May 8, 1989, in Lake View Cemetery, Jamestown, New York, marking the end of an era. "Poppers", which is the street name given to the drug amyl nitrite, were apparently found in her system at the time of her death. Although they may be used for a different reason today, back then they were taken when chest pains would occur.

Al Capone died in 1947 at 48. His brain was rotted by syphilis to the point where he was 'functionally a 12-year-old': During his time as a prisoner at Alcatraz in the early 1930s, possibly even earlier, Capone displayed symptoms of brain deterioration due to syphilis. His later years were marked by a combination of mental and physical decline, leading to a regression to a childlike state. In January 1947, Capone spent his last days in Florida, appearing feeble-minded and engaging in conversations with imagined beings, while sharing meals with his wife and grandchildren - nothing like the intimidating mob boss he'd once been.

The coroner's report cited accidental fentanyl overdose as the cause of death. Ellingson's father had disclosed that the actor had battled addiction and passed away in a sober-living facility. Despite not appearing in films for over a decade, Ellingson's co-star from My Sister's Keeper, Abigail Breslin, honored him on Instagram, describing him as "a kind, funny, and extremely talented human being."

Her parents had only taken her to the hospital for flu-like symptoms but by the time they found the obstruction, she was beyond help. Eventually, O’Rourke’s parents filed a wrongful-death suit because her illness had originally been misdiagnosed. The obstruction wasn’t found until her autopsy even though X-rays had been taken before her death.

Also, in photos leaked at the time of his death, he appeared to be wearing a wig and fishnets. At first, his death was ruled a suicide. However, a second autopsy showed that Carradine died in a sex act that went wrong. The autopsy ruled that his death was an accident that resulted from his usage of autoerotic asphyxiation. 

Once, Monteith even told Parade that in the past, he had been abusing “anything and everything, as much as possible.” Despite multiple rehab visits, he went back to his old ways and was found dead with a “spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle,” as well as “two empty champagne bottles”. The coroner’s report also stated that he had been dead for a few hours before he was found.

It was discovered that the organ most significantly affected was Flynn's penis, which was afflicted by a cluster of exceptionally large genital warts. These warts were of such notable size that the city's chief pathologist, Tom Harmon, took it upon himself to extract and preserve them in formaldehyde, with the intention of using them as educational materials for future generations of doctors in British Columbia.

In 2012, neighbors found Lewis’s body in the driveway of the property with the left side of his skull and left eye socket caved in. He had fallen from the second floor or the roof. Before his fall, though, he beat Davis and her cat to death. It was assumed that Lewis had been strung out on drugs at the time, but his autopsy showed that there were no drugs in his system, making his actions all the more incredulous.

In general, people often find they look for closure when it comes to deaths around them. This need is only maximized when it comes to celebrities, as without the personal connection of acquaintance, fans have less to hold onto in the aftermath of a passing. While autopsy conclusions are one possible way for fans to better understand the figures they admire, open funerals are another...

Investigators believed this was a personal murder, especially since he was found in bed. There was no forced entry and nothing of value was missing from the scene. Investigations led police to John Henry Carpenter who helped Crane with his video equipment, but without DNA testing at the time, nothing conclusive was found. Carpenter was later charged and acquitted, making Crane's murder still unsolved.

Not to mention, in 1975 Presley was hospitalized with high blood pressure, cholesterol, and emphysema caused by a rare genetic condition. So what caused all these conditions? Forest Tenant, a prominent California physician, believes they stemmed from a head injury back in 1967,  ten years prior to his death, when Elvis tripped and fell unconscious in a hotel room. The brain damage may have triggered an auto-immune disease, which would have caused his constant pain, erratic behavior, obesity, and a diseased heart and organs. Forensic coroners also agree that this would have highly contibuted to his death, exacerbating his already present heart issues and causing his fatal heart attack.

Not to mention, there are other pieces of evidence from the crime scene that many believe were mishandled in a coverup. This theory also points to his then-wife, Courtney Love, as possibly being involved with the murder thanks to a handwriting practice sheet found in her bag and the fact they were looking at getting divorced. In April 2021, files released by the FBI would certainly have given these conspiracy theorists fuel for their versions of events. These files included letters sent to the FBI stating alternate theories as to how the legend met his end. These letters mentioned that apparently there were no fingerprints found on the shotgun and they also pointed out the different handwriting in the suicide note. The letters also mentioned that Courtney Love reportedly hired a private investigator to investigate Cobain's suicide. It turns out that this investigator actually thought that Love may have had something to do with Cobain's death.

Later, in 2011, Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Murray had been giving Jackson a propofol drip every night for insomnia. But this anesthetic is notoriously unpredictable and potentially fatal and as a cardiologist, Murray wasn't trained properly in its usage. Not to mention, Jackson’s autopsy showed that he had a large cocktail of additional drugs in his system including lidocaine, midazolam, ephedrine, and diazepam.

Other than the drugs, there was nothing physical found in his autopsy that would have led to an early death. The autopsy also revealed that Jackson had had his lips tattooed pink and his scalp tattooed black so his wigs could blend in better and that he also had vitiligo, a condition which lightened his skin.
 

The toxicology tests show that Boyce tested positive for Levetiracetam, a common anti-seizure medication used by many. Other than that nothing else was found in his blood. The report also said that Boyce had already suffered from "non-traumatic" yet major seizures in the past.

However, if she had gone to the hospital 24 hours earlier and received intravenous drugs, she probably would have lived. But, even with this information, Murphy’s father, Angelo Bertolotti, claims that his daughter was poisoned by an assassin. His reasoning is that Murphy’s husband died in almost the exact same way five months after her death. Not to mention, Murphy died shortly after she and her husband had publicly supported a government whistleblower.

Her death was originally ruled an accident, but evidence from her autopsy have made officials take another look into the nature of her death. According to her autopsy, certain urine levels in her bladder show that it is possible that was already unconscious before she went into the water. Wood, who was notoriously afraid of water and drowning, also publicly had a rocky marriage with Wagner.

The crime scene was so bloody that investigators had to wait until the autopsy to be able to recreate the attack. Simpson had been stabbed seven times in her scalp and neck with the final blow being a 5.5-inch long gash to her throat. The cut was deep enough to sever both her left and right carotid arteries, breach her left and right jugular veins, and even penetrate her cervical vertebrae. This attack was so vicious that Simpson was nearly decapitated.

Goldman died just as violently and authorities believed that he arrived to return her sunglasses in the middle of the attack. Authorities stated that the murderer had personal motivation which is what led them directly to her ex-husband. After his infamous trial, O.J. was eventually acquitted.

When he took on the role of the infamous Batman villain, he locked himself in his hotel room for weeks preparing. The documentary Heath Ledger: Too Young To Die showed the journal he kept during this time including pages with photos of hyenas and stills of Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. Even more suspicious is the last page in his journal that simply said, “Bye Bye.” Many think that Ledger got too into his character, but others think this is just in reference to Ledger finally being finished with filming the movie. His family doesn’t think that he was depressed or that his death was intentional, and his autopsy showed that he died accidentally from abusing prescription medication. A combination of doxylamine, oxycodone, alprazolam, hydrocodone, temazepam, and diazepam was found in his system.

It was said that she never got over her son's death, and on February 8th, 2007, Smith was found dead in her hotel room. The autopsy revealed that she had also been the victim of an overdose and that there were 11 drugs in her system, the combination of which had proved fatal. It was later revealed that almost all of the 11 drugs had come from prescriptions written not to her but to people close to her, pointing to the fact that they had facilitated her substance addiction.