Michelle McNamara Cause of Death

McNamara, an American true crime author, died in her sleep in her family’s Los Angeles home on April 21, 2016.

According to the autopsy report, her death was caused by the side effects of multiple prescription drugs (including Adderall, Xanax and the pain medication fentanyl).

According to the same article, several of her medications were not prescribed to her, and she was also found in possession of other drugs such as cocaine and levamisole.

A previously undiagnosed atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (heart disease) played a role. The coroner ruled that it was an unintentional overdose.

Patton Oswalt and director Liz Garbus acknowledged McNamara’s opioid addiction in a June 2020 interview.

At the time of her death, her book, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer was about two-thirds finished.

Following her death, true crime writers Paul Haynes, Billy Jensen, and her widower Patton Oswalt edited and completed the document.

The book, which was published posthumously on February 27, 2018, nearly two years after her death, debuted at number two on The New York Times Best Seller list for nonfiction and number one for combined print and e-book nonfiction.