Bobbi Kristina Brown's ex-fiancé Nick Gordon, 30, died from a heroin overdose, autopsy report concludes
- Nick Gordon died from a heroin overdose, according to an autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com
- The 30-year-old was found unresponsive in a Florida hotel room in the early hours of New Year's Day
- Also in Gordon's system were morphine, midazolam, a powerful sedative, and Naloxone, which is a drug given to overdose victims
- A friend previously told DailyMail.com Gordon had overdosed a prior to his death but was revived by Narcan, an opioid antidote
- Gordon, a prolific drug user, had once been engaged to Bobbi Kristina Brown - the late daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown
- A friend also revealed that Gordon had been homeless and living at the three-star Sheraton Orlando North Hotel for the two to three weeks
- Family and friends had suspected black tar heroin was involved in his death
- Friends say he 'disappeared off the radar' several months ago after splitting with his ex-girlfriend Laura Leal
The late Bobbi Kristina Brown's ex-fiancé Nick Gordon died from a heroin overdose, according to an autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com.
Gordon, 30, died at Altamonte Springs Hospital on New Year's Day after first responders found him unresponsive inside a hotel room in central Orlando.
DailyMail.com later revealed the long-time heroin abuser had spent the night partying with a female friend who dialed 911 but left before a fire and rescue team arrived.
Florida medical examiner Tracy Corey ruled out trauma and disease as the cause of death and determined that Gordon was killed by 'heroin toxicity'.
Her report notes he had a history of being found unresponsive and in a state of cardiac arrest but had been previously been resuscitated.
A slew of substances were found in Gordon's system including morphine, midazolam - a powerful sedative - and Naloxone, which is a drug typically given to overdose victims to try to reverse the effects of heroin.
The late Bobbi Kristina Brown's ex-fiancé Nick Gordon died from a heroin overdose, according to an autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com
Gordon, a prolific drug user, had once been engaged to Bobbi Kristina Brown - the late daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Pictured together in August 2012 - three years before Bobbi died of a drug overdose in 2015
Florida medical examiner Tracy Corey ruled out trauma and disease as the cause of death and determined that Gordon was killed by 'heroin toxicity'. Her report notes he had a history of being found unresponsive and in a state of cardiac arrest but had been previously been resuscitated
A slew of substances were found in Gordon's system including morphine, midazolam - a powerful sedative - and Naloxone, which is a drug typically given to overdose victims to try to reverse the effects of heroin
Gordon was notorious for the 2015 death of Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina, who spent six months in a coma after she was found unconscious in a bathtub with similar drugs in her system.
Her controlling ex-fiancé never faced criminal charges but was held legally responsible for her wrongful death in a civil case.
Despite his pariah status, Gordon had held down a job in construction in the months before his death and was said to have been 'doing great', according to family.
He was also calling himself Nicholas Bouler, the name of his biological dad Jon Bouler, in what friends speculated was an effort to escape his past and the $36 million in civil damages he owed over Bobbi Kristina's death.
After his mom and steadfast supporter Michele Gordon, 48, moved to Hawaii several years ago, he had been living with concerned former neighbors who looked out for signs of drug abuse and kept an eye on his drinking.
However they told DailyMail.com Gordon 'disappeared off the radar' several months ago after splitting with on-off girlfriend Laura Leal.
The three-star Sheraton Orlando North Hotel, where rooms start at around $99 per night, was home for the final two to three weeks of Gordon's life.
The Maitland Police Department was alerted to his suspected fatal overdose there at 5:15am on New Year's Day.
'Black stuff is coming out of his mouth and he is not breathing,' a dispatcher was heard saying in 911 call audio.
Sources later told DailyMail.com the substance was black tar heroin, a cheaper but notoriously potent form of the drug.
Gordon, who was taken in by Houston at the age of 12, has never faced criminal charges and claims he tried his best to save the girl he considered his 'lil sis' before their relationship became romantic. Bobbi died three year's after her mother Whitney Houston's death
Gordon was living at the Sheraton Orlando-North Hotel and was there the night of new year's eve when he allegedly overdosed. A mystery woman called 911 but vanished before help could arrive
The two drugs found in Gordon’s system were similar to those identified during Bobbi Kristina’s autopsy five years ago.
Medical examiners reported morphine - a common byproduct of heroin abuse - as well as benzodiazepines in her body.
Benzodiazepines are medications used for sedation or to treat anxiety and they include midazolam, a sedative noted in Gordon’s toxicology findings.
It’s commonly used to reduce anxiety and induce sleep with ‘significant abuse potential’, the medical examiner’s report notes.
Overdoses can lead to coma but rarely prove fatal. The opposite is true of morphine, found in both Gordon and Bobbi Kristina’s bodies.
Gordon had a reading of 38 ng/mL (nanograms per miniliter of blood) which compares to the 90 ng/mL dose chronic pain sufferers are typically given over the course of an entire day.
Doctor Corey’s report states he had a ‘large amount of watery secretions’ in his bronchial system as well as swelling to his brain.
It notes ‘marked acute congestion’ in his lungs and ‘early bronchopneumonia’, an inflammatory condition that can fill the airways with puss and fluid.
There were also early indications of kidney disease and signs of longterm damage to Gordon’s liver.
She concluded the manner of his death was an accident, writing: ‘Death in this 30-year-old gentleman, Nicholas Bouler, is attributed to heroin toxicity.’
Gordon was arrested for domestic violence in March 2018 for 'repeatedly punching his new girlfriend Laura Leal' (together right). Friends say he 'disappeared off the radar' several months ago after splitting with Leal
The daughter of pop icons Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina spent six months in a coma after she was found passed out in a bathtub with drugs in her system and bruises to her chest.
Gordon protested his innocence and insists he did everything he could to resuscitate the 22-year-old budding singer after finding her unconscious at the Alpharetta, Georgia home they shared.
The sad episode echoed the death of her superstar star mom Whitney who also drowned in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel, with cocaine abuse and heart disease contributing to her February 2012 demise.
Bobby Kristina's autopsy similarly listed drug intoxication and the immersion of her face in the water as factors.
Gordon, who was taken in by Houston at the age of 12, has never faced criminal charges and claims he tried his best to save the girl he considered his 'lil sis' before their relationship became romantic.
Brown's estate accused him, however, of causing her wrongful death by giving her a 'toxic mixture' and also stealing from her bank account while she was comatose.
When neither Gordon, nor his lawyer, showed up at hearings in 2016 a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled against him by default, ordering him to pay massive damages.
Share this article
Gordon's rap sheet also included arrests for kidnap and domestic violence against Leal, who said that during their June 2017 fight he punched her so hard she wondered if she was dead.
However she later dropped charges of domestic violence battery and false imprisonment insisting she was as much to blame for the dust-up as he was.
Jack Walker Jnr, Gordon's stepfather said his headline-grabbing son was misunderstood by the media and unfairly labelled a bully.
'I just want the world to know that despite everything that they heard negative Nick was a great person,' Walker Jnr told DailyMail.com. 'He loved everyone.'
Former lawyer Joe S. Habachy added in a statement to People: 'While I cannot speak to the specific circumstances of his death, I can say that it's been truly heartbreaking to have witnessed first-hand the total devastation that drug addiction has wreaked upon a group of young friends, all of whom were loved and had immense potential.'
For further information on the national opioid epidemic and to access advice and treatment visit www.hhs.gov/opioids/ or contact the US Department of Health and Human Services national helpline on 1-800-662-4357.
