FARGO-The father of a teenager who died in a North Dakota State University residence hall last month has released his son's cause of death to ease any fears on campus and reassure the friends his son was visiting when he died.

Tom Delaney, of Savage, Minn., posted the information on his Facebook page and spoke with The Forum about what he learned from his son's autopsy results.

He said they indicate Devin Delaney, 17, died of natural causes.

More specifically, the autopsy said he had cardiac dysrhythmia or an abnormal heart rhythm, brought on by myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, possibly from a virus.

Delaney said it was the most comforting news the family could get.

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"I'm comforted by the fact that he just passed in his sleep, peacefully," Tom Delaney said.

He said the autopsy will be released to the public on Monday.

Delaney said it showed no illicit or prescription drugs in his son's system and only a negligible amount of alcohol.

He said toxicology reports indicated Devin Delaney's blood alcohol content was .02. The legal BAC limit for driving in North Dakota is .08 for drivers over age 21 and .02 for those under 21.

Devin Delaney, a senior at Burnsville High School, was found dead in NDSU's Sevrinson Hall on Sunday, Sept. 17, where he had been staying with a friend and NDSU student for the weekend.

The presence of the Cass County Coroner's red van outside the dorm that day rattled students and fueled speculation that Delaney's death was caused by drinking too much alcohol.

Tom Delaney said he knows his son and friends were drinking some the night before, but there's no indication they overdid it and no evidence it was a factor in his death.

He wants his son's friends to know there was nothing they did, or did not do.

"There wasn't any physical action or drinking too much, that's all eliminated as even being related," Delaney said.

He was upset by news reports that implied Devin's death was caused by binge drinking.

"I want to set that straight for his memory," he said.

At the same time, Delaney said he doesn't want to minimize the importance of reminding young people about the dangers of drinking, citing a recent alcohol-related hazing death of a student at Louisiana State University.

He's confident his son and friends were looking out for each other that night, and recalls the conversation he had with his son before he left for Fargo that weekend.

"One of the last things I told him is 'Make good choices,' and he promised he would," Delaney said.

While the investigation into his son's death is over, one more answer may come down the road.

During the autopsy, a specimen was obtained and sent to the Centers for Disease Control to further investigate the cause of the heart wall infection.

Delaney said emotions are still up and down about his son's passing.

The family is still planning a graduation party for him next year, as a remembrance.

In his last school paper, Devin wrote about wanting to live all over the world to see different cultures and mindsets. He was contemplating college, likely studying math and science.

"He was figuring out life, asking all the questions of the universe," Delaney said.