The cause of Amanda “Mandy” Blank’s death is still “undetermined” after a full autopsy, the Los Angeles coroner’s office reports.
The celebrity fitness trainer and bodybuilder, who worked with stars like Alex Rodriguez, Mickey Rourke, Michelle Monaghan and Jordana Brewster, was found dead in the bathtub in her Los Angeles home on Oct. 29. She was 42.
Medical responders declined to name a cause of death until after an autopsy was completed, but now, eight months later, examiners say that they still do not know how she died. But, they confirmed that there were no drugs in her system at the time of her death, and they do not believe she died by suicide or from foul play.
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According to the autopsy report, completed on June 26 and obtained by PEOPLE, Blank’s maid found her in a partially-filled bathtub. The medical examiner, Dr. Nicholas Stanzione, reported that her head was above water and did not show signs of trauma, but “drowning cannot be excluded” as a cause of death, as she had “abundant” amounts of edema — swelling due to excess fluid — in her nostrils. However, it was not present anywhere else in her body.
Stanzione also wrote in his report that he performed additional drug testing at the request of Blank’s friends.
“During the investigation, concerned friends inquired about the possibility of ingesting opiates or other substances,” he said. “Fentanyl and opiates are tested and are negative. In addition, designer opiates are tested and the results are also negative.”
Stanzione also tested for traces of dietary supplements, alcohol, medications or illegal substances, and all came back negative. Still, he said, an overdose or drowning are still possibilities.
“Amanda Blank’s position in the bathtub along with the edema present in the airway suggests a possible overdose situation; however, drowning cannot be excluded,” he said.
Without knowing her condition prior to her death, Stanzione wrote, he cannot rule on the cause.
“The terminal events surrounding her final moments are unknown, therefore the manner of death is undetermined,” he said. “If new information becomes available, the case will be revisited.”
Blank started working in fitness at age 18, and after just one year in the field, she placed 5th in the World Fitness Olympia — a bodybuilding competition — and soon gained professional status.
She went on to become the youngest competitor to win the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) World Championships and claimed the 1998 Fitness Nationals Champion title and the 1999 World Champion title, according to her website.
Most recently, Blank was working as a fitness trainer and coach for her celebrity clientele and people across Los Angeles with her online training and nutritional programs, called the Blank Body program.
“Without my health and fitness, I have nothing,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
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