Police in Uganda say they suspect American producer Jeff Rice died from a cocaine overdose, not poisoning, as his wife has said.
He was found dead and his assistant Kathryn Fuller unconscious in a Kampala hotel last week.
Rice's wife Sally Blackwell initially said she was told police believed they were poisoned. However, she declined to speculate on media reports claiming the pair were the victims of local thugs trying to extort money from them.
The Uganda Police Force told E! News an autopsy performed on Rice showed "major metabolites of cocaine" in the producer's system. Police also said Fuller tested positive for cocaine.
Investigators said they found a bag of white powder in Rice's hotel room, E! News reported."The police were called in by the hotel. The two were taken to hospital. Jeff Rice was declared dead on arrival," Uganda Media Centre spokesman Fred Opolot told E! News.
"The initial investigations by the doctor who checked them showed Rice probably was suffocated," he said.
Authorities said an official cause of death will be announced once toxicology tests are completed.
