Joe Mersa Marley in 2014.Photo:John Parra/Getty Images
John Parra/Getty Images
New details aboutJo Mersa Marley’s cause of death have been revealed.
The report states that the 31-year-old grandson of reggae iconBob Marleyand son of Grammy Award-winning musicianStephen Marleywas found “unresponsive” inside his vehicle in the parking lot of a Ross Dress for Less store on Dec. 26 last year. He was pronounced dead after officers attempted to administer CPR at the scene.
The Medical Examiner’s Office said that Marley had a history of asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia and had not been taking his asthma medication at the time of his death. He also visited a Florida hospital in March 2022 for a chest abscess, according to the report.
The report also states that Marley had informed his mother on Christmas Day that “he was feeling ill, ostensibly due to his asthma.” His body showed no signs of injury, though his lung had evidence of congestion, hyper-expansion and increased mucus in its airwaves, along with black discoloration resulting from smoking.
A toxicology report found THC, the chemical in marijuana, as well as naloxone and 0.08% of ethanol in Marley’s system at the time of his death.
“An acute asthma exacerbation due to viral illness is a common occurrence and considered a non-allergic event,” the report states. “Additionally, chronic smoking of combustible products such as tobacco or marijuana is dangerous in a person with asthma.”
Jo Mersa Marley in 2018.Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty
After beginning to write music in middle school, Marley released his first song “My Girl” — a collaboration with his cousin Daniel Bambaata Marley — in 2010. In 2014, he dropped his first EP, titledComfortable. His latest and second EP,Eternal, was released in 2021.
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“We always hear those reflections, speaking about those things, about the role that he played not only as family member and father, but also in the world and the impact he had on the Reggae community and the Reggae culture, the roots, bringing forward the message of Rastafari and love, over all love,” he explained at the time.
source: people.com
