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George Michael's post-mortem examination into cause of death proves 'inconclusive'

Police say further tests will be carried out

Maya Oppenheim
Friday 30 December 2016 15:51 GMT
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Fans have gathered outside the star’s Oxfordshire home, laying flowers and candles at his doorstep
Fans have gathered outside the star’s Oxfordshire home, laying flowers and candles at his doorstep (Getty)

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The cause of George Michael’s death continues to be unclear after a post-mortem examination came back “inconclusive”.

The pop superstar died at the age of 53 of heart failure at his Oxfordshire home on Christmas Day.

Thames Valley Police said further tests would be carried out in due course. The results of these tests are unlikely to be known for several weeks.

A statement from the police force said: “A Post Mortem examination was carried out yesterday as part of the investigation into the death of George Michael.

“The cause of death is inconclusive and further tests will now be carried out. The results of these tests are unlikely to be known for several weeks.

“Thames Valley Police will prepare a file for the Oxfordshire Coroner.

“Mr Michael’s death is still being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.

Earlier this week, his boyfriend, Fadi Fawaz, revealed he had been the one who found Michael dead in his Oxfordshire home on Christmas morning.

“It’s a Xmas I will never forget finding your partner dead peacefully in bed first thing in the morning,” he tweeted. “I will never stop missing you xx,” Fawaz, who is a celebrity hairdresser, tweeted.

Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley in north London in the early 1960s, Michael formed the era-defining pop duo Wham! and fast became one of Britain’s biggest pop stars of the 1980s.

In the wake of his death, fans have gathered outside Michael’s Oxfordshire home in the village of Goring-on-Thames and his house in Highgate, north London, to lay flowers, candles and handwritten notes at his doorstep.

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