Juice WRLD autopsy results inconclusive as new airport details emerge

New details have emerged regarding the death of rapper Juice WRLD, aka Jarad Anthony Higgins. Shortly after leaving his private plane early Sunday morning, Dec. 8, the 21-year-old rapper succumbed to a seizure in Chicago’s Midway Airport.

Law enforcement officials were tipped off in advance that Higgins’ private plane may have had contraband onboard, according to the Chicago Tribune. Both FBI agents and Chicago plainclothes officers were waiting at a private hangar at Midway when Higgins and his crew had landed.  

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Today, The Chicago Tribune reports that FBI agents had seized over 70 pounds of marijuana in 41 vacuum-locked bags and six bottles of prescription-strength codeine cough syrup from his private plane. In addition, two of the rapper’s associates, Harry Dean and Chris Long—who identified themselves as the rapper’s security detail—were taken into custody by agents for possession of handguns. Among those seized were two 9 mm pistols, a .40-caliber pistol, a high-capacity ammunition magazine and metal-piercing bullets, according to the law enforcement.

The Tribune story reports that as Higgins was stopped and having his bags searched by plainclothes Chicago policemen and FBI agents, he began convulsing. He was administered Narcan twice after his girlfriend told officials he “takes Percocet and has a drug problem.”

Higgins died at 3:14 a.m. Sunday after being transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

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In a statement to USA TODAY from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, an autopsy conducted today has come up inconclusive regarding Higgins’ death. “The cause and manner of death are pending at this time,” spokesperson Natalia Derevyanny wrote.

USA TODAY is also reporting that the Homeland Security immigration agency ICE is investigating Higgins’ death but the agency was not providing additional information at this time. Chicago outlet WGN9 has also reported ICE’s involvement alongside local police.

UPDATE: DEC. 9, 2019, 5:44 P.M. ET

Following news that Juice WRLD’s (aka Jarad Anthony Higgins) autopsy results are inconclusive, more details have emerged regarding the FBI being tipped off and the rapper’s drug consumption.

It was previously reported that authorities were informed of suspected contraband aboard the flight. Now, TMZ reports an unnamed law enforcement official has confirmed the private jet’s pilot alerted the authorities that Higgins’ crew had guns on them.

Upon landing, the FBI and Federal Aviation Administration officers were waiting to search the plane. Between landing and the officers conducting the search, sources told TMZ that Higgins allegedly swallowed multiple Percocet pills. This was supposedly done in an attempt to hide them and in turn reportedly contributed to an overdose.

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However, as previously stated, the autopsy has yielded inconclusive results and a cause of death is still pending. Additional testing including toxicology, cardiac pathology and neuropathology must still be conducted before determining the cause.

The authorities seized 70 pounds of marijuana and three handguns, and as previously reported, his security detail Harry Dean and Chris Long were taken into custody for the weapons possession.

More on Juice WRLD

Juice WRLD’s latest album, Death Race For Love, was a highwater mark for music in 2019. But it was his 2018 debut, Goodbye & Good Riddance, that was positive proof that the rapper had truly arrived. His track “Lucid Dreams” had an appeal that was immediate and reverential, an across-the-board favorite, powered by a sample of Sting’s “Shape Of My Heart.” His 2018 mixtape collab with Future, Wrld On Drugs, was another stellar release, featuring the participation of Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Young Thug. 

Juice WRLD was scheduled to perform at Los Angeles’ Rolling Loud Festival this coming Saturday. The rapper was also booked for Snowta NYE Festival in Minneapolis Dec. 31 and Hangout Music Festival 2020 in Gulf Shores, Alabama in May.

See more: In memoriam: Musicians we lost in 2019

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