Update on why Chyna official cause of death will be delayed

4/26 REPORT: The official cause of death for Chyna (Joanie Laurer) might take months to determine, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The L.A. County Coroner’s office has posted an official record of Laurer’s case. However, they are deferring the cause of death until completing toxicology tests as part of an additional investigation.

The issue is that L.A. County has a backlog of investigations into cause of deaths. The L.A. Daily News reported in March that presiding coroner Dr. Mark Fajardo was resigning effective April 15. Fajardo said he was leaving because his department was in turmoil because of funding cuts. The supervising board claimed ongoing mismanagement and job turnover.

Regardless, the Daily News reported in March that there were 180 bodies waiting to be processed at the morgue and it takes six months for toxicology reports to be completed.

It points to why an official cause for Laurer was delayed until an investigation can be completed later this year.

4/30 UPDATE: Another reason for a delay in Joanie Laurer’s cause of death is Laurer’s practice of mixing prescription drugs in multiple bottles.

TMZ reports that detectives found “several full prescription pill bottles” containing different medication near Laurer’s body when she was discovered. She also mixed vitamins with her pills.

This will require a full toxicology report to determine what was in her system at the time of her death. The initial belief is a combination of Ambien, Valium, and other items led to an accidental overdose. However, an official cause will need to be determined from the toxicology report.