Jani Lane Initial Autopsy Inconclusive; Toxicology Results Pending

Former Warrant frontman had struggled with alcohol addiction for years

Former Warrant frontman Jani Lane was given no official cause of death following a Friday autopsy.

The excitable pop metal artist was found dead in a hotel room at a Comfort Inn in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Thursday night. He was 47.

Toxicology tests are underway, with results expected in the next two months. 



Also read: Warrant Singer Jani Lane Dead at 47

Lane, whose last residence was miles away in Redondo Beach, Calif., had struggled with addiction for years. According to TMZ, vodka and prescription pills were found at the death scene, but Vicky Oswald-Ley, Lane’s sister, placed the blame for his death squarely on alcohol in a Friday interview with Radaronline:

“Alcoholism is not something he chose. It’s something he fought every day and it just won,” she said.

“There were no drugs, that was one thing he could not tolerate, he couldn't stand them. He did not do drugs. We don’t have the autopsy report back yet, but he was a heavy drinker and I can only guess that alcoholism has a lot to do with it.”

Lane was arrested in 2009 for driving under the influence. In 2010, he was arrested on the same charge and spent 120 days in jail.

The rocker left Warrant numerous times, first in 1993 and then more permanently in 2004. He reunited with his old bandmates one final time, in 2008.

Lane, whose real name was John Kennedy Oswald, also appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club 2" in 2005.

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