The wife of prolific Canucks writer Jason Botchford has released a statement confirming his death last year was due to a cocaine and fentanyl overdose.
Botchford’s sudden death in April 2019 at age 48 sent shockwaves through the Vancouver sports community.
He had a large following as a Canucks beat writer for The Province from 2005 until 2018, going on to write for The Athletic prior to his death.
“The coroner’s office has advised that the investigation into his death is now complete,” said a statement by his wife, Kathyrn Botchford, posted to Twitter.
“It confirms what we had been told unofficially: death was caused by an accidental overdose of cocaine and fentanyl.”
Kathyrn Botchford went onto say the family is “completely shocked and in disbelief” to discover the cause of death.
“The cause does not change who Jason was to all of us but just makes his death that much harder to comprehend. We are still grieving,” the statement continued, asking for privacy.
Jason Botchford is survived by his wife and three children.
He was one of 981 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2019 in the province, according to the BC Coroners Service.
I am Jason Botchford’s father. His wife, Kathryn Botchford, has asked me to release this statement on behalf of her and our family.@katbotchford pic.twitter.com/jl6xw3x7eb
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) August 28, 2020
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