CONFIRMED

Model Nichole Coats’ Cause of Death Revealed by L.A. Coroner

Her mother had suspected “foul play” in the 32-year-old’s death.

A model who was found dead in a Los Angeles apartment last month died as a result of “cocaine and ethanol toxicity,” the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner said Tuesday. The death of Nichole Coats, 32, was ruled an accident, though the status of her case remains “open.” Officers had gone to Coats’ home in downtown L.A. to conduct a welfare check on the morning of Sept. 10 but no one responded. Family members later found Coats’ body inside the property. Her death came two days before another model, 31-year-old Maleesa Mooney, was found dead in another apartment around three miles away—with investigators treating Mooney’s death as a homicide. The LAPD said there was no evidence suggesting that the two cases were linked, though Coats’ mother, Sharon, previously told People she suspected “foul play” in her daughter’s death.