Heroin overdose suspected in death of Catfish’s Ashley Sawyer
Police in Hoover, Alabama suspect a possible heroin overdose is the cause of death for 23-year-old Ashley Sawyer.
News broke yesterday that the young woman, who appeared on the second season of the show Catfish on MTV, had died over the weekend. Michael Fortunato, the young man that she was seeking during her episode, had died just two-and-a-half years earlier, at the age of 26, from a pulmonary embolism.
Hoover police spokesman Lt. Chuck McDonald told AL.com there was a call from Sawyer’s apartment early Saturday morning. When police arrived, Sawyer was already down, and people at the scene were attempting to perform CPR. Officers then attempted to use a defibrillator to revive her, but were unsuccessful.
Shortly thereafter, firefighters arrived and took over life-saving measures. Ashley was treated with Narcan, an opiate antidote, but this, too, failed to bring her back.
McDonald said, “An autopsy was performed and early indications are this may be related to a drug overdose, possibly heroin.”
He added there were possible signs of heroin use at the scene. There were no signs of foul play.
During a catch-up episode, Sawyer said that she was living in a sober-living facility after struggles with addiction. After her passing, her sister said that Sawyer had completed the program.
