Lindsey Pearlman’s cause of death confirmed | Entertainment

Lindsey Pearlman’s cause of death has been confirmed as suicide.

The former ‘Empire’ actress – who was known for roles on ‘Chicago Justice’ and ‘General Hospital – was found dead aged 43 near Hollywood Boulevard and the entrance to Runyon Canyon Park on February 18, just days after being reported missing.

Now, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coronor has officially ruled her death as suicide caused by nitrite toxicity.

According to a coronor’s report obtained by PEOPLE magazine, “the presence of non-toxic levels of lorazepam, metoclopramide, and codeine” were found in her system.

Back in February, a spokeswoman for the coronor’s office revealed that despite an initial examination, Pearlman’s cause of death has been listed as “deferred”.

Sarah Ardalani of the LA County conoror’s office said at the time: “She was examined by a physician and a cause of death was deferred.

“Deferred means that after an autopsy, a cause of death has not been determined and the medical examiner is requesting more investigation into the death, including additional studies.”

The actress – who also starred as Karen on TV series ‘Vicious’ – was married to producer Vance Smith, who took to Instagram to share that he was “broken” upon learning of his wife’s death.

He wrote: “The police found Lindsey. She’s gone. I’m broken. I will share more later, but I wanted to thank you to everyone for their love and efforts and ask you to respect the privacy of her family at this time.”

In a statement, Lindsey’s agent Michael Chiaverini said that he was “deeply saddened” by the death of his client and expressed the family’s wish for privacy at this time.

He told E! News: “We are deeply saddened by Lindsey Pearlman’s passing today. The family has asked for privacy during this difficult time while they process and grieve.”