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GENERAL HOSPITAL

GH Actress Lindsey Pearlman’s Cause of Death Revealed

It’s been six months since actress Lindsey Pearlman was found dead inside a car near the entrance of Runyon Canyon Park, a popular hiking trail in Hollywood, California. And now, according to a report obtained by People, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner has completed Pearlman’s autopsy, officially confirming the late actress’ cause of death as a suicide by sodium nitrite toxicity.

The 43-year-old actress, who was found dead on February 18, had “the presence of non-toxic levels of lorazepam, metoclopramide, and codeine” in her system at the time of her death. Those substances may have been from prescription medicines Pearlman was taking at the time of her death, but the ingestion of sodium nitrite (a salt preservative used in curing meats) at high levels is known as a “suicide powder.”

An actress who had supporting roles on CHICAGO JUSTICE and VICIOUS and appeared in several national commercial campaigns, Pearlman played a bartender on GENERAL HOSPITAL for several episodes in January 2020. In the episodes, Pearlman appeared as Maggie, a quirky bartender at a Brooklyn pub visited by Jason, Sonny, and Mike when the men took Sonny’s dad to participate in a clinical trial to treat his Alzheimer’s disease. Soon after they arrived, gunfire broke out and one of the shooters grabbed Maggie before Jason shot him dead. “I recurred on General Hospital as Maggie McMorris, a tough sweetpea of a bartender,” Pearlman wrote on her website’s blog about her GH gig. “I love her!”

Lindsey Pearlman Max Gail
Pearlman’s Maggie indulged Mike in some harmless flirting.ABC

Five days before her death, Pearlman had been reported missing, and according to TMZ, the actress had left behind a suicide note at her home. While the medical examiner’s autopsy was completed in February, Pearlman’s cause of death wasn’t revealed at the time due to an ongoing investigation of her death.

Pearlman is survived by her husband, actor Vance Smith. Our thoughts are with her family and friends as they continue to grieve Pearlman’s death.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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