Cooper Noriega’s cause of death has been determined six months after he died.
The body of the TikTok star was found in a Burbank, California, parking lot on June 9, less than three weeks before his 20th birthday.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner has determined that Noriega died due to the combined effects of fentanyl, lorazepam, which is used to treat anxiety, and alprazolam, also known as Xanax. The coroner also noted his recent use of clonazepam, another anxiety medicine, as another significant condition that contributed to his death.
Noriega’s death was ruled an accident, and the coroner confirmed that he died in a parking lot.
Shortly before his death, Noriega posted a video on TikTok, where he now has over 3 million followers, with the caption, “Who else b thinking they gon die young af.”
Four days earlier, Noriega announced on social media that he was creating a Discord server dedicated to discussing mental health, which he invited his followers to join.
“If you’re really into getting your emotions out, or whatever, come join,” he said in a TikTok video. “I created [the server] because of how much I love you guys and how much I struggle with it myself.”
“I would like to use the influence I’ve been given to create a space built on spreading awareness and normalizing talking about mental illness,” he wrote in a separate post on Instagram. “One of the many things I’ve learnt while struggling with addiction was that surrounding yourself with negative people will only bring you down.”
Shortly after his death, Noriega’s father Harold Noriega, broke his silence, sharing an emotional statement on his Facebook.
“Today has been an incredibly difficult time for my family and me. We lost our beautiful 19-year-old Cooper last evening,” he wrote alongside a picture of his late son.
“He was loved by so many and truly the love of Treva’s, Parker’s and my life,” Harold continued. “There are no words to express the grief and loss. It’s not supposed to be this way. Your child is not supposed to pass before his parents.”
The grieving dad added, “Cooper has touched so many people. He recently started a chat on Discord which grew to thousands for those to have a safe place to talk about mental health. My boy was a believer and I know he is in the presence of God. Thank you everyone. I love you all.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.