The coroner has revealed how American Idol finalist and Grammy winner gospel singer Mandisa died. Her autopsy showed that she died from complications of class III obesity.
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However, the coroner didn't reveal exactly when the singer died. The singer had been sick in the weeks prior and been keeping a lower profile. According to the report, she "was last known alive approximately three weeks" earlier. She passed some time during those three weeks. They listed her death as natural. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Class III obesity is where a person "has a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher or a BMI of 35 or higher and is experiencing obesity-related health conditions."
American Idol fans and gospel fans mourned her passing. Following her passing, a representative for the singer confirmed that friends found her deceased at her Nashville home. "We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased," they wrote. "At this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details. We ask for your prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time."
Mandisa Was Sick In Weeks Prior To Her Death
At her memorial, her father opened up about her passing. He theorized that she collapsed and couldn't call for help.
"But here's what I think happened," he said. "Mandisa fell down in her bedroom. They found her on the floor. If you look from the rear of her bed, she was laying on the left side. It's clear that's where she was laying, there was a couple of big rugs there and some clothes. On the right side of the bed, front, was this nightstand. I found her phone on the right side of the bed. There was no way for Mandisa to get around the bed, go out there and get a phone to call for help."
He also said that she had been struggling with illness in the weeks prior to her passing.
"She did not harm herself," he also stressed. "As she said, Mandisa loved the Lord and the Lord loved Mandisa. So there's one thing you may not have known. She told me some time ago that she had gotten COVID-19 and she had been weak trying to get over that. But she was trying to press through. We talked so much on Easter morning, but I thought she was going to this conference, and so I had not called her recently but I've talked to her a lot. May she rest in peace now."
