Heiress Casey Johnson died of diabetes-related condition, coroner says

LOS ANGELES — Heiress Casey Johnson died of diabetic-related complications, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Thursday.

The 30-year-old heiress to the Johnson & Johnson empire and daughter of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson died Jan. 4 at her Los Angeles home.

Coroner’s officials determined her “natural death”
to be a result of diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication of diabetes
that occurs when the body cannot use glucose because it has inadequate
insulin and fat is used instead. As the fat is broken down, acids
called ketones build up in the blood and urine to poisonous levels.

A preliminary investigation by police homicide
investigators had found nothing to suggest that Johnson died of
anything other than natural causes.

And sources with the Los Angeles Police Department had said they believed the cause was “medically related.”

The personal life of Johnson, the girlfriend of
reality TV star Tila Tequila, has long been a staple for celebrity
gossip sites and tabloids including the New York Post’s Page Six, which dubbed her the “baby-oil heiress.”

Johnson, whose given name was Sale Trotter Case Johnson, was diagnosed with diabetes as a child.

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