Brian Wilson’s cause of death has been revealed, a little more than two weeks after the Beach Boys co-founder died at age 82.
According to the death certificate released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer died of respiratory arrest, though sepsis and cystitis were also listed as significant contributing conditions.
Respiratory arrest occurs when the heart is still beating but the lungs give out, leading a person to stop breathing, per the American CPR Care Association.
Chronic respiratory failure, chronic kidney disease, obstructive sleep apnea and neurodegenerative disorder were also identified as associated factors in Wilson’s death. His family announced his dementia diagnosis early last year.
Wilson died earlier this month, his “heartbroken” family confirmed in a June 11 statement on social media.
“We are at a loss for words right now,” they said. They asked for privacy as the family grieves their “beloved father,” but acknowledged they’re aware that they’re “sharing our grief with the world.”
Due to his battle with dementia, Wilson was placed under a conservatorship in February 2024, weeks after the death of his wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson. Melinda, 77, had served as his primary caretaker.
“My heart is broken,” Wilson wrote on social media at the time. “Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning. Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost.”
“Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior,” he continued. “She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career.”
In addition to his dementia, Wilson had for decades struggled with depression and a schizoaffective disorder, the latter of which triggered auditory hallucinations, even while on tour and working in the studio with the Beach Boys.
Wilson is survived by his daughters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, of Wilson Phillips — from his previous marriage to singer Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford — as well as the five daughters he adopted with Ledbetter Wilson.
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