Chris Burrous, the weekend news anchor and reporter at Los Angeles-based at KTLA, died in December from methamphetamine toxicity, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Friday. He was 43.
Other contributing factors to Burrous’ death include hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the coroner’s office added.
The manner of Burrous’ death was deemed accidental, according to the coroner’s office.
Burrous was found unresponsive at a hotel in Glendale, California, on Dec. 27, 2018. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:06 p.m., the coroner said.
Burrous joined KTLA in 2011 as a reporter and anchor and helped to expand its popular morning news shows to a seven-days-a-week broadcast.
The son of a Central Valley farmer and a NASA engineer, he previously worked in Bakersfield and Fresno before joining CBS13 in Sacramento in the mid-2000s.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burrous family,” KTLA president and general manager Don Corsini and news director Jason Ball said in a statement following Burrous’ death. “Chris loved sharing the stories of Southern California and connecting with our viewers. He will be remembered as a great journalist and a wonderful friend to many. He brought a kindness to his work and will be deeply missed by the entire KTLA family.”
He left behind his wife, Mai, and 9-year-old daughter, Isabella.