Heiress Casey Johnson died of diabetes complications caused by a lack of insulin

By Lizzie Smith

Tragic: Casey Johnson, left, with her fiancée Tila Tequila, died from a complication from her diabetes

Socialite Casey Johnson died of complications from diabetes, a disease she had suffered from since childhood.

Johnson, 30, an heiress to the Johnson & Johnson health care products fortune, died of diabetic ketoacidosis, the Los Angeles County coroner said.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition caused by lack of insulin and sky-high blood sugar.

An autopsy was conducted on January 5, a day after Johnson's body was found at her home.

The coroner's office said it would not be able to discuss specifics until the autopsy report and toxicology results become available within two weeks.

'If you have somebody with diabetes, there should be somebody checking up on that person,' said Dr Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner in New York City who has been an expert witness in cases involving the late comedian John Belushi and former pro football star O.J. Simpson

He said Johnson probably slipped into a diabetic coma, and that people can usually be resuscitated from that in the first 24 hours.

Johnson, the daughter of New York Jets NFL football team owner Robert 'Woody' Johnson, lived a party lifestyle.


Home: Casey Johnson may have been in a diabetic coma for up to 24 hours at her Los Angeles home Grumblenot


In December, she announced her engagement to bisexual reality TV star Tila Tequila.

Johnson had been an insulin-dependent diabetic since she was a child. A memorial fund in her name was set up with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Her father is chairman of that organization and co-author of the book Managing Your Child's Diabetes.

Casey Johnson lived in a quiet neighborhood behind big wooden gates marked Grumblenot, but she often partied with high school friend and fellow heiress Paris Hilton.

Johnson was charged in December with burglary and receiving stolen property for allegedly taking $22,000 in clothing, jewellery and other items from a friend's home.

She pleaded not guilty and faced a February hearing.

She is survived by her parents, two younger sisters, and an adopted child she named Ava-Monroe, after her idol, Marilyn Monroe.

source: dailymail