Coroner: Ike Turner OD'd
E! Online, Jan 16, 2008 11:59 am PSTIke Turner went to prison because of cocaine. And, according to coroner investigators, he went to his grave for the same reason.
Turner, the revered and reviled Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician who died last month, succumbed to a cocaine overdose, the San Diego Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday.
"The cause of death will be [ruled] an accident," said supervising investigator Paul Parker.
Hypertensive heart disease and emphysema were referred to as significant contributing factors in the 76-year-old's death.
Turner died in his San Diego-area home on Dec. 12.
The guitarist who put the groove in "Proud Mary," and other '60s hits with then-wife Tina Turner had a long history as an abuser. According to Tina Turner, he terrorized her. According to Ike Turner, cocaine reigned over him.
Tina Turner extricated herself from the marriage in the 1970s, while Ike Turner fell deeper into the drug hole. He once estimated he'd spent a fortune, literally $11 million, on cocaine. In 1990, he was sentenced to prison on cocaine charges. He served 18 months, and missed his and Tina's 1992 induction into the Rock Hall.
In recent years, Turner released a pair of acclaimed albums and looked to move beyond the stigma of drug and spousal abuse.
He said he'd punched, but never beat his wife. And he said his prison stint had scared him straight.
"I've been clean since then, so I think that was a blessing in disguise," Turner told London's Independent in 2005, "because a lot of people think once you get hooked on cocaine that's the end of your life."
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