Drug tests pending in Osmond’s son’s death
(Agencies)
2010-03-02 14:03
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LOS ANGELES - Toxicology tests will determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the death of Marie Osmond's 18-year-old son, who police said jumped to his death from a downtown apartment building, a coroner's official said Monday.
Michael Blosil left a suicide note before he leaped from the eighth floor of the building on Friday night, said police Lt. Paul Vernon.
Vernon said he did not have details of the note.
"It was fairly obvious this appeared to be a suicide, based upon witness statements," he said.
Coroner's officials were investigating the case as a suicide, but an autopsy conducted Sunday did not officially determine the cause of death pending the results of toxicology tests, which could take up to two months, said Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.
"He fell to his death from a balcony, eight stories," Winter said, but officials "just want to make sure that he wasn't drunk or something and walked out of his balcony and fell."
"Is it an accident or is it a suicide?" Winter asked. "We just want to make sure that there's nothing that we missed."
Blosil was a first-year student of apparel manufacturing at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, said college spokeswoman Shirley Wilson. A floral memorial was placed in the school's rotunda in his honor.
Blosil and other students lived at the Metropolitan apartments on Flower Street, Wilson said.
The complex, known as "The Met," has a 24-hour doorman and a balcony for every apartment, along with a spa, pool and other luxuries.
Details of Blosil's death were not immediately released, but Vernon said there was no indication that he had been attending a party or other event where he might have been drinking.
There have been conflicting reports about whether Blosil may have struggled with depression. Vernon said he did not have any information.
Osmond revealed in 2007 that her son had entered rehab but didn't say specifically what he was being treated for.
"He's dealing with a lot of issues," she told CNN's Larry King at the time. "I don't feel comfortable talking for him. I think he'll have to deal with that."
Osmond did say one of the issues troubling him was the fact that he was adopted.
"He is the most amazing kid ...," she added before beginning to cry.
Osmond herself has struggled with depression over the years, as she disclosed in her 2001 book, "Behind the Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression."
Blosil was one of Osmond's five adopted children. She also has three other children from two marriages. Osmond divorced Brian Blosil in 2007 after two decades of marriage. She and her first husband, Stephen Craig, divorced in 1985.
In a statement after his death, Osmond said she and her family were in shock. Her publicist declined to provide any additional comment from Osmond on Monday.
Osmond earned fame at age 13 with the hit song "Paper Roses," and starred with her brother, Donny, on television's "Donny and Marie Show" during the 1970s.
The siblings perform a musical variety show regularly at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The hotel said the shows were canceled over the weekend and performances would resume on March 9.