By Andrew Dalton
AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES 鈥� Singer and rapper Aaron Carter accidentally drowned in his bathtub as a result of sedatives he鈥檇 taken and gas used in spray cleaners he had inhaled, a coroner鈥檚 report said Tuesday.
Carter, the younger brother of the Backstreet Boys鈥� Nick Carter, was found submerged and dead at age 34 in the bathtub of his home in Lancaster, California, on Nov. 5, the autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner said.
Sheriff鈥檚 deputies had been the last people to see Carter alive when they visited his house at 2 a.m. on Nov. 4 for a welfare check after he had been seen and heard 鈥渉uffing鈥� an inhalant on an Instagram live video, according to a police report included in the autopsy findings. He asked the deputies to leave, and they did.
The autopsy found that the sedative alprazolam, often sold under the brand name Xanax, was found in his system, as was the compressed gas difluoroethane, which the report says is 鈥渁 gas commonly used as a propellant in air spray cleaners,鈥� which 鈥渃an induce feelings of euphoria when inhaled.鈥�
The two substances incapacitated him in the tub, and caused the drowning, the report said.
Later in the evening, after deputies checked on Carter, he missed an appointment with a drug counselor, the police report said.
The following day, a person whom authorities called a house sitter at the time but whom the report identifies in quotes as a 鈥渉ousekeeper鈥� came to Carter鈥檚 house to offer him coffee. She let herself in when she got no response and heard his dogs barking, according to the report.
The woman found him submerged, wearing a T-shirt and necklace, in a Jacuzzi-style tub with the jets running, and called 911. The operator told her to pull him out and perform CPR, according to the report.
Paramedics immediately declared him dead when they arrived.
Investigators found several prescription bottles and multiple scattered cans of an electronic duster that he used for inhaling.
The report referred to Carter as 鈥渁 celebrity with a known history of substance abuse鈥� who had 鈥渕ultiple interactions with local police relating to the substance abuse.鈥� It cited a particular history of inhalant abuse, and a recent relapse.
Carter began performing as a child in the 1990s, opening for acts including his brother鈥檚 boy band and Britney Spears. His career peak came in 2000 with the triple-platinum album 鈥淎aron鈥檚 Party (Come Get It),鈥� which produced hit singles including the title song and 鈥淚 Want Candy.鈥�
He also acted on television shows including 鈥淟izzie McGuire,鈥� and appeared on the family reality show 鈥淗ouse of Carters鈥� and 鈥淒ancing With the Stars.鈥�
Carter for years had been open about his substance abuse struggles, detailing his issues with inhalants in a 2019 episode of the talk show 鈥淭he Doctors.鈥� He also said in the interview that he was taking medications for acute anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Nick Carter said after his younger brother鈥檚 death that 鈥淚 have always held onto the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.鈥�