Florence Griffith-Joyner - Death

Death

On September 21, 1998, Griffith-Joyner died in her sleep at home in Canyon Crest Heights, California at the age of 38. The unexpected death was investigated by the sheriff-coroner's office, which announced on October 22 that the cause of death was suffocation during a severe epileptic seizure. She was also found to have had a cavernous hemangioma, a congenital brain abnormality that made Joyner subject to seizures. According to a family attorney, she had suffered a tonic–clonic seizure in 1990, and had also been treated for seizures in 1993 and 1994.

Griffith-Joyner's supporters claimed that the autopsy cleared her of allegations that she used performance-enhancing drugs. The Orange County coroner's office noted that the autopsy records showed that she did not die from drugs or banned substances. The coroner had requested that Griffith-Joyner's body specifically be tested for steroids, but was informed that there was not enough urine in her bladder and that the test could not accurately be performed on other biological samples. The City of Mission Viejo dedicated a park at the entrance to her neighborhood in her honor.