Stephen Gately Died of Natural Causes, Police Say

LONDON, Oct. 13, 2009 — -- Irish boy-band star Stephen Gately died of natural causes, not from binge drinking or drug consumption, Spanish police said. Autopsy results from Gately's unexpected death during a vacation in Majorca, Spain, were revealed at a court hearing today.

Officials told the court that Gately, 33, suffered a pulmonary oedema, or a build up of fluid in the lungs, which ultimately results in respiratory failure. The condition is usually caused by damage to lung tissue or circulation problems.

Police would not confirm whether Gately had been drinking or taking drugs before his death but ruled them out as causes of his death.

After the witness statements and tests are confirmed, the judge noted, the case will be closed. The judge also gave Gately's family and his partner, Andy Cowles, permission to take the singer's body home to Ireland.

Cowles attended today's hearing and left court looking visibly upset.

Gately, the first Irish, boy-band star to come out as gay during his stint in the band Boyzone, was on vacation with Cowles when he was found dead on the sofa at 1:45 a.m. Saturday.

Media reports raised questions about whether the young star had died because of an overdose of drugs or from alcohol abuse, even as a Gately family spokesman denounced such reports, saying, "There is nothing untoward. It's not drugs, we don't believe. It's not suicide, it's not murder, it's not a fight. That's what we've been told."