New drug tests to f ind out how superstar died

DRUGS may have played a role in the death of George Michael, it emerged yesterday.

Further detailed forensic tests that will detect legal and prescription substances have also been ordered after a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive. Thames Valley Police said the cause of the 53-year-old’s death remained ‘unexplained’.

Toxicologists will now investigate samples taken from his body to determine what was in his system.

The body of the singer, idolised by millions for his hit songs such as Faith and Careless Whisper, was discovered at his Oxfordshire cottage on Christmas Day.

His long-term partner Fadi Fawaz, 43, said the singer was ‘lying peacefully in bed’, and his manager Michael Lippman said he died of heart failure.

Friends said the star had cleaned up his act in recent months but remained a recluse, moving between homes in the village of Goring and Hampstead, north London.

He had confessed to smoking cannabis daily and using crack cocaine in the past. Recent photographs showed Michael, who sometimes jokingly referred to himself as ‘the singing Greek’, had gained weight.

The decision to order tests means it is more likely a full inquest will be held into the Wham! star’s death. Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said an inquest would not be necessary if it was found he died of natural causes.

Thames Valley Police said the further tests could take ‘several weeks’, although in some past cases they have taken considerably longer.

Among the tests will be the careful analysis of blood, tissue and even hair to establish whether any toxic substances contributed to the death.

These will not only find whether Michael ingested drugs in the hours before his death, but also shine a light on his lifestyle over the previous weeks and months.

Mr Fawaz, a celebrity hairstylist, fine art photographer and model, said the couple were looking forward to spending Christmas together.

He said: ‘I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone, lying peacefully in bed.

‘We don’t know what happened yet. Everything had been very complicated recently, but George was looking forward to Christmas, and so was I.’

Michael, whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, is believed to have left a legacy worth more than £100million.