Cause of Death in Busch Estate Death Will Take Weeks

Dec. 25, 2010— -- It could take more than a month for investigators to determine what happened to 27-year-old Adrienne Martin, who was found dead earlier this week at the home of August Busch IV, according to law enforcement officials.

Martin's body was found in the St. Louis-area mansion of Busch, the 46-year-old heir of the Anheuser-Busch dynasty.

Martin's death was reported to the police just after 1 p.m. on Dec. 19, according to the Frontenac Police Department. Her body was found in a $2 million mansion in Huntleigh, Mo., owned by Busch, the former Anheuser-Busch CEO.

In a statement, Thomas Baker, Frontenac police chief, said Martin's body was found with "no apparent signs of trauma or other indications of cause of death."

It could take as long as six weeks for the results of toxicology tests to determine whether she suffered an overdose, officials said.

Her ex-husband, Dr. Kevin J. Martin, 45, said in an interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch on Friday that he does not know his ex-wife's cause of death, but he said she had a heart condition called Long QT syndrome, a rare inborn heart condition that can cause palpitations, fainting and sudden death.

Dr. Martin told the newspaper that he discovered his ex-wife's condition after performing an electrocardiogram on her after they wed in 2002. He said that she did not discuss the condition with others, and that he has not discussed it with authorities.

"She refused to see a cardiologist about it," Martin said. "I've always suspected she thought I was overreacting."

Busch is the great-great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch, and had been in charge of the famed brewery until 2008, when the long-time family company was sold to InBev.

A police statement said the department received a 911 call at 1:15 p.m. Sunday about an "unresponsive person" at the home. Martin was deceased when paramedics and officers arrived, the release said.

Calls made to Busch's attorney, Art Marguilis, weren't immediately returned, but Marguilis told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that there is "absolutely nothing suspicious about her passing."

"It's a tragic and untimely death of a young person," he said. "A very kind young person, by the way."

While officials at the Frontenac Police Department declined to speculate on what may have caused Martin's death, an unnamed source from the squad told the Post-Dispatch that an overdose was possible.

St. Louis County forensic administrator Suzanne McCune said Thursday there were no signs of illness or trauma to Martin's body.

It has been widely reported that Martin and Busch had been dating for nearly a year.

In recent years Busch has reportedly kept out of the public eye, but a 1997 profile of him in Fortune magazine described him as having a "tumultuous" history.

Known to most people as simply "The Fourth," Busch wore cowboy boots every day and spoke candidly to the magazine about his role in the company, shooting down claims that his life was made any easier by his position of power, while still admitting that he was part of the family tradition that requires each Busch baby to drink a few drops of Budweiser on the very day they're born.

Not Busch's Only Run-In With the Law

"People think, 'Here's a guy who's got it all -- the Busch name, the best job in the world,' " Busch told Fortune in 1997. "It's a very different reality."

In 1983, when Busch was 20, he was involved in a car accident in which his friend and passenger, Michele Frederick, 22, died. According to published reports at the time, Busch, who was then a sophomore at the University of Arizona, had been driving a black Corvette 20 miles above the posted speed limit when the car spun out of control.

Busch left the scene and cops later found him with a severe head wound at his home in Tucson. He was never charged due to lack of evidence.

When asked about the accident, Busch told Fortune that, "I had a bad head injury. I don't remember that part of my life."

Then just a few years later, in 1985, Busch had another run-in with the law. He was arrested after leading police on a high-speed car chase in St. Louis, driving his father's Mercedes, according to the Wall Street Journal.

He was put on trial on assault charges for attempting to run over two police officers, but was acquitted of by a St. Louis jury.

As for Martin, she appears to have been an aspiring model, with profiles on modeling websites called istudio.com and onemodelplace.com. She had last logged on to onemodelplace.com at the beginning of October.

Martin wrote on her istudio.com profile that she works with children as an art therapist but is interested in getting into modeling.

"Aside from my long-term goal, I have been in pageants for several years now and I feel I want to do something more; MODELING!" she wrote. "I really would like to do beer advertising!"

She also wrote that she had been employed at Hooters for several years and had competed in several swimsuit competitions.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Martin had been marred to 45-year-old Dr. Kevin Martin until 2009, when they separated. The couple shared custody of their son, who is now 8.