Police in Uganda say they suspect American producer Jeff Rice died from a cocaine overdose, not poisoning, as his wife has said.
Rice ran his own South Africa-based production company and occasionally did work for TV's "The Amazing Race."
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.
"His lady friend was unconscious and had no indication of suffocation. Above all of that, some white substances were found on the table. Further investigation was done on Jeff Rice. It was found he was intoxicated by a cocaine substance. The police came to the conclusion that he probably had an overdose. ... We heard reports that he was attacked by thugs. ... The hotel he stayed at was a 5-star hotel. The rooms can only be accessed by hotel workers or guests. No one can easily walk in and out. There's good security at the hotel. Those allegations are unfounded."
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Authorities said an official cause of death will be announced once toxicology tests are completed.