MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. -- Local family members and friends of McKees Rocks native Billy Mays were devastated by the television pitchman's death at the end of June.
They were also upset by the autopsy results from the medical examiner's office in Hillsborough County, Fla., where Mays died, indicating that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that killed the Sto-Rox High School grad.
"I knew immediately after Dr. (Cyril) Wecht initially said that it was botched, the first autopsy, I knew that his name would be cleared," Mays' brother, Randy, of McKees Rocks, said on Thursday.
Randy Mays' comments came shortly after Billy Mays' wife, Deborah, released a statement saying that a New Jersey pathologist has conducted an independent review for the family and found that the autopsy results don't support the conclusion that cocaine was a contributing factor in Billy Mays' death.
"Chronic cocaine use was not demonstrated by the autopsy findings of Mr. William Mays," the statement quotes Dr. William Manion's report as saying. "In addition, there is nothing in his medical, social or professional history to suggest chronic cocaine use."
In his report, Manion said he doesn't believe cocaine was a significant factor in Mays' death and that his autopsy findings are "not consistent with the cardiac conditions normally observed in a person chronically using cocaine."
A toxicology report released earlier showed the 50-year-old Mays did not have cocaine in his system at the time of his death, and his family denied he had a problem with the drug.
In her statement, Deborah Mays said she hopes the new results will help clear her late husband's name.
Mays sold the world on products like OxiClean and Orange Glo until June 28, when his wife discovered him dead in their Tampa home. Relatives said he never showed signs of being an illegal drug user.
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