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Elliott Smith Verdict Inconclusive

added 05 January 2004 at 10.03

Following the death of singer/songwriter Elliott Smith last October from what were suspected to be self-inflicted wounds, a Los Angeles coroner’s office has stated that it could not at present confirm a case of suicide.

Smith (34) died on October 21 last year from fatal knife wounds to the chest. However despite initial reports, investigators have been unable to conclusively state that the singer himself was responsible.

Initially it was claimed Smith died of a single wound, but coroners have found that he suffered "two penetrating stab wounds" to the chest and are unable to determine if they were self-inflicted.

"The trauma that he sustained could have been inflicted by him or by another,” David Campbell spokesman for the LA Coroner’s office said, “And the coroner has not been able to make a determination,"

As a result the official nature of Smith’s death will remain an open case for the police, and a spokesman for the LAPD has said that homicide detectives would "look again" at the case in the wake of the report.

Though it is known that while Smith had struggled with drug addiction for many years, Campbell has stated that Smith was using anti-depressants and other medication (prescribed for attention deficit disorder) he was not abusing the drugs at the time of the incident, and the investigation’s toxicology tests showed no signs of any illegal or controlled substances in his system.

Tagged as Elliott Smith, archive

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