Authorities have confirmed the cause of death for The Wire actor Bobby J. Brown after his passing in a February 24 barn fire.
Brown died as a result of diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation, the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner stated, according to records reviewed by US Weekly.
The actor, who had also been seen on Veep, Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, suffered ‘fourth-degree burns’ in the fatal blaze, examiners said.
Brown had ‘a few brown hairs on the scalp, but the vast majority were singed off,’ authorities said in the report.
Results of a toxicology report reviewed by the outlet indicated that Brown ‘had been consuming alcoholic beverages prior to death’ and tested negative for any drugs in his system.
Examiners said that carbon monoxide had been detected in 71 percent of the actor’s blood.
Authorities have confirmed the cause of death for The Wire actor Bobby J. Brown after his passing in a February 24 barn fire. Pictured on the iconic HBO series
Brown suffered ‘fourth-degree burns’ in the deadly incident, with skin ‘absent from the left chest, a portion of the left arm and portions of the lower extremities.’
Brown’s daughter Reina told People that she received the tragic news of her father’s death via a phone call at around 11:30 p.m. while she had been sleeping.
‘I had gone to bed about two hours before,’ Reina said.
She said that her younger sister had told her that their father had been ‘caught up in a barn fire, and I’m like, “What do you mean?”‘
Reina spoke about the surreal moments after learning the shock news.
‘I literally went outside and put both my feet on my front walk,’ she told the outlet. ‘It’s cold, and I stood out in my bare feet in a nightgown because I wanted to make sure I was really awake.
‘I did that to make sure I was in actual reality and not dreaming this up, and then I did it for a grounding exercise. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, this isn’t real. And I still don’t even feel like it’s real.’
The grieving daughter, who told the outlet that her late father had tried to get a fire extinguisher amid the blaze, said that she and her relatives were ‘still trying to process’ the devastating loss.
Brown seen on the 2022 HBO series We Own This City
Brown pictured playing a Baltimore police officer opposite Wendell Pierce on The Wire
‘It’s been difficult for all of us,’ she said. ‘My dad was an amazing human being. He was super awesome. He was a pillar in the community, and he’s going to be missed by a lot of people.’
Albert Bramante, Brown’s agent, issued a statement calling Brown ‘an actor of immense talent and even greater integrity,’ according to People.
‘He approached his work with a discipline and a passion that were truly inspiring to witness,’ Bramante said. ‘While his career included many notable performances, it was his unwavering dedication to the craft of acting that defined him as an artist.
‘We are deeply saddened by this loss and ask for privacy for his family and loved ones during this time.’
