Gray died of morphine overdose

Paul Gray died of an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl.

Des Moines: Autopsy results show the bassist for heavy metal band Slipknot died of an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl, a synthetic morphine substitute, police said Monday.Paul Gray, 38, was found dead in a suburban Des Moines hotel room on May 25. A hotel worker told a 911 dispatcher that a hypodermic needle was found near Gray`s body and that pills also were found in the room.

The autopsy shows he died of an overdose, Urbandale police said in a news release. They also said the autopsy revealed signs of significant heart disease. No evidence has been found showing Gray had a prescription for the drugs, police spokesman Sgt. Dave Disney said. Police are trying to find out how Gray got them. "There is no evidence that a doctor prescribed either one of those substances," Disney said. Disney said charges are possible but that it is too early to discuss specifically what those charges could be. A person answering the phone at Slipknot`s record company, New York-based Roadrunner Records, declined to comment and said that there would be no official comment from the company or band until one is posted on the band`s website. No such statement was posted on Slipknot`s website as of late Monday afternoon. Phone listings for his wife, Brenna Gray, and Corey Taylor, a founding member of the band, were not immediately found. Gray was a co-founder of the Des Moines-based band known for its grotesque masks, thrashing sounds and aggressive, dark lyrics. Slipknot emerged in the mid-1990s and its 1999 debut album sold about 2 million copies. The band won a Grammy in 2006 for best metal performance for the song "Before I Forget." Bureau Report