Aaron Carter‘s ex-fiancée, Melanie Martin, 31, has some suspicions about the late singer’s official cause of death after it was announced on April 18. According to his autopsy results, which were obtained by TMZ, the former child star took his last breath after huffing gas and taking prescription pills, resulting in an accidental drowning in his bathtub. “The results of the autopsy are not closure for me. It claims death is by drowning but also adds he was wearing a t-shirt and necklace in the bathtub which doesn’t make sense, why would he be in a bathtub with clothes on?” Melanie wondered in a statement to TMZ. “I am still in shock and still miss Aaron every day. I don’t understand the chain of events and this report only has us asking more questions.”
The official document from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reportedly read that Aaron, who was 34 when he unexpectedly died on Nov. 5, 2022, became “incapacitated while in the bathtub due to the effects” of the huffing and pills. Specifically, he inhaled compressed difluoroethane (the propellant often found in cans of compressed air, per the National Library of Medicine) and had alprazolam, which is generic Xanax, in his system. He was found in the bathtub of his Lancaster, Calif. home.
Aaron’s death came just weeks before his and Melanie’s son, Prince, turned 1 year old. Prior to his death, Aaron was elated to celebrate his son’s major milestone. “Aaron was really excited to see Prince on his birthday. He had said that being a father was the most amazing thing that happened to him, and he was really trying to get his life back in order so that he be a present father to his boy,” a person close to the troubled star told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY at the time.
Unfortunately, Melanie had to celebrate Prince’s birthday without the love of her life, but she made sure to mention him in her birthday tribute for her son on Instagram. “Happy birthday to my baby boy Prince Lyric Carter … Today is going to be a tough one for me but I know your daddy is playing birthday songs for you up in heaven I love you baby boy!!!” she wrote with a slideshow of snaps of herself and Aaron with their bundle of joy.
Melanie has made sure to keep Aaron’s memory alive, as most of her social media posts revolve around him and her grief. In March, she shared dozens of photos of them together and wrote that being without him is something she never wanted. “Missing you and trying to heal every day,” she wrote. “I wanted to be with you forever you were it. A part of me will never have closure but ill have the memories forever.”
On the five-month anniversary of Aaron’s death, Melanie shared a video of herself flipping through a scrapbook she made from their captured memories. In the posts’ caption, she shared a quote about grief: “Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.”