New details emerged over the weekend about what Colombian law enforcement officials allegedly found in the hotel room of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins as they investigate the cause of the 50-year-old’s death.
The Daily Mail and New York Post highlighted a report from local journalist Luis Carlos Vélez, who said that law enforcement sources had found a white powder substance when they entered Hawkins’ room at the Four Seasons Casa Medina in Bogota.
Vélez tweeted the following on Saturday:
- “A police officer, who entered the room, told @FiscaliaCol he saw a ‘cocaine’ looking powder at #TaylorHawkins room. Drug use has not been confirmed yet.”
- “At #TaylorHawkins room, Colombian authorities found: an empty beer can, an opened bottle of vodka, a Coca-Cola bottle, and some ‘other articles’ being analyzed by authorities.”
- “At #TaylorHawkins hotel room, multiple cups were found, suggesting he had visitors before his death. Colombian authorities interrogated the band manager. Investigators are determining if the use of cocaine was a factor.”
Colombia’s attorney general announced on Saturday evening that Hawkins had numerous substances in his system when he died on Friday evening.
The attorney general’s remarks were contained in a press release on the initial forensic examination of the body, found in a hotel room in Bogota.
“Preliminary results of the urine toxicology test indicate the presence of 10 different substances: THX (Marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and opioids, among others,” the statement said. “The National Institute of Forensic Medicine continues to conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death.”
Hawkins, 50, died while on tour with the band.
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band said in a statement. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
Fox News reported:
Hawkins was Alanis Morrissette’s touring drummer when he joined Foo Fighters in 1997. He played on the band’s biggest albums including “One by One” and “On Your Honor,” and on hit singles including “My Hero” and “Best of You.”
Born Oliver Taylor Hawkins in Fort Worth Texas in 1972, Hawkins was raised in Laguna Beach, California. He played in the small Southern California band Sylvia before landing his first major gig as a drummer for Canadian singer Sass Jordan. When he spent two years in the mid-1990s drumming for Morrissette, he was inspired primarily by the playing of Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins.
Related: Music World Reacts To Death Of Foo Fighters Drummer Taylor Hawkins: ‘In Utter Disbelief At The News’