(Photo: Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images)

Last April, true-crime writer Michelle McNamara, wife of comedian Patton Oswalt, died suddenly in her sleep. Now, Oswalt—who’s spoken movingly about his grief in the intervening year, and the difficulties in raising their daughter alone—has revealed the cause of his wife’s death: a combination of prescription medication and an undiagnosed heart condition.


In a statement to The Associated Press, Oswalt revealed the details of a coroner’s report received earlier today, which showed that McNamara died from an interaction between a condition that caused blockages in her arteries, and Xanax, Adderall, and the pain medication fentanyl. McNamara was 46.

According to Oswalt’s Twitter account, Investigation Discovery’s A Crime To Remember—on which McNamara was a frequent guest—tributed her with a dedication card in its season finale, which aired earlier this week.


[via The Hollywood Reporter]