Eric Bollinga€?s 19-Year-Old Son Had Cocaine, Marijuana and Opioid Drugs in System When He Died: Autopsy
Six weeks after former Fox News host Eric Bollinga€?s only child, 19-year-old Eric Chase Bolling, was found dead on Sept. 8, his cause of death has been revealed.
a€?Just received some tragic news from Coroner in Colorado. Eric Chasea€?s passing has been ruled an accidental overdose that included opioids 1,a€? the mourning father, 54, revealed on Twitter Thursday.
The Boulder County Coronera€?s report, obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday, lists the cause of death as a€?mixed drug intoxicationa€? and ruled it as an accident. The post-mortem toxicology report, which was completed on Sept. 11, revealed Eric Chase had cocaine, marijuana, alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax), and the opioid drugs, fentanyl and cyclopropyl fentanyl, in his system. a€?History of drug abuse and white powdery substance discovered at the scene,a€? stated the report.
Fentanyl, the same drug that also killed music icon Prince, is classified as a Schedule II drug by the federal government and its medical uses are typically pain management following surgery or for chronic pain. Cyclopropyl fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is chemically similar to fentanyl but is not intended for human or animal use.
Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin, up to 100 times stronger than morphine.
a€?Adrienne and I thank you for your continued prayers and support. We must fight against this national epidemic, too many innocent victims,a€? Bolling wrote in a follow-up tweet along with a photo of his son, who was studying economics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
On the day of his sona€?s death, Bolling tweeted: a€?Authorities have informed us there is no sign of self harm at this point. Autopsy will be next week. Please respect our grieving period.a€?
The sad news came hours after news broke that Bolling, who anchored Fox Newsa€? Cashina€? In. and also co-hosted Fox News Specialists and The Five, had been removed from his job at Fox News following allegations that he harassed colleagues.
Also on Thursday, President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. Trump called for a€?really tough, really big, really great advertisinga€? to a€?teach young people not to take drugs,a€? according to the New York Times.
Since 2000, the number of deaths from opioids a€” which includes painkillers and heroin a€” in the U.S. has risen more than 137 percent, according to TIME.
Bollinga€?s friends and former Fox News co-workers expressed their condolences on social media Thursday.
a€?So sorry brother for your awful loss. warm regards to your family from me and mine,a€? tweeted Geraldo Rivera.
Earlier this week, former Fox News host Bill Oa€?Reilly apologized to Bolling in a tweet after he implied in a recent interview that Bollinga€?s sona€?s death was a suicide: a€?Apologies to Eric Bolling and prayers for him and his family. The message I tried to send was that allegations harm kids. Nothing more.a€?