A coroner’s report has determined that popular Vancouver sports journalist Jason Botchford died of an accidental overdose of cocaine and fentanyl.
The 48-year-old was found dead on April 29, 2019, and left behind a wife and three children.
According to the report by coroner Kristin Vanderkuip, he was found unresponsive in a private home at 11 a.m. on that Monday morning, but hadn’t been seen since about 9:20 p.m. the previous Thursday.
Drug paraphernalia was found at the scene and there was no evidence of foul play.
“The effects of these substances, in isolation or when combined, are unpredictable and sufficient to cause death,” the report said.
In a statement Friday, Botchford’s wife, Kathryn, said the report confirmed what the family had already been told unofficially.
“We were completely shocked and in disbelief to discover the cause of Jason’s sudden death,” she wrote.
“The cause does not change who Jason was to all of us but just makes his death that much harder to comprehend. We are still grieving.”
The statement goes on to thank the community for their outpouring of support in the wake of his death, and to ask for privacy.
Botchford rose to prominence through his Vancouver Canucks coverage with The Province newspaper, and made regular appearances on TSN radio.
In 2018, he left Postmedia to join The Athletic as a senior hockey writer.
Earlier this week, data from the BC Coroners Service showed the province’s fatal overdose epidemic was continuing to accelerate.
July marked the fifth consecutive month in which overdose deaths were recorded in the triple digits, and brought the 2020 overdose death toll in B.C. to more than 900.
Overdose fatalities have grown to surpass homicides, motor vehicle incidents, suicides and COVID-19 combined, chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said.