Leslie Carter's Death: Questions Remain, Funeral Planned
While the cause of Leslie Carter's death won't be known for more than a month, preparations for her funeral are under way. She will be buried in western New York next week, Chautauqua County coroner Richard Mackowiak told ABCNews.com.
Mackowiak said the cause of Carter's death would be determined after he received toxicology reports, in about four to six weeks. Her family will decide whether to reveal the cause of death publicly.
Mackowiak said Carter's autopsy took place Wednesday morning, and "as far as I'm aware, there was nothing unusual." Her body was released from the coroner's office Wednesday and is now at a funeral home in Mayville, N.Y.
TMZ reported Wednesday that Carter had been battling an addiction to prescription medication, and family members tried to rid her home of pills, including Xanax, before her death. According to TMZ, Carter's family believes she died of an overdose.
Carter, the sister of Backstreet Boys band member Nick Carter and singer Aaron Carter, died Tuesday in New York. She was 25. She leaves behind her husband of three years, Mike Ashton, and a 10-month-old daughter, Allysa Jane.
"Our family is grieving right now, and it's a private matter," a representative for the Carters said in a statement. "We are deeply saddened for the loss of our beloved sister, daughter and granddaughter, Leslie Carter."
Carter was one of four siblings. She appeared on the reality-TV show "House of Carters" in 2006 and had achieved some success as a singer. Her song "Like Wow" was included on the soundtrack for the movie "Shrek."
Her brother Aaron took over her Facebook page on Wednesday, posting a message saying he'd keep her memory alive: "Hey this is aaron we are going to keep her facebook up..! i will add ppl so we keep leslie alive! we love les ?"
Representatives for Nick and Aaron Carter did not immediately respond to ABCNews.com's requests for comment.