Police have said there is no evidence of foul play in Aaron Carter’s death as his mother called for a homicide investigation to be opened.
The singer was found dead in his bathtub in November 2022 at the age of 34. His cause of death has not yet been determined as the LA County Coroner’s Office awaits results from a toxicology report.
Carter’s mother, Jane Schneck, posted on Facebook on March 1, saying she was “still trying to get a real investigation for the death of my son”. In the post, she shared “death scene photos” of the star’s bathroom “because the coroner wrote it off as an accidental drug overdose”.
“They never investigated it as a possible crime scene because of his addiction past,” Schneck wrote. “Look at the photos. They were not taken by the police. But they allowed people to go in and out although a lot of potential homicide information was there for years.”
She also claimed: “Aaron had a lot of death threats and many many people who were making his life miserable.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to Schneck’s claims, saying: “Homicide detectives are continuing their investigation into the death of Aaron Carter. To date, there has been no evidence of foul play found during the investigation. The results of Mr. Carter’s autopsy are still pending. The investigation remains ongoing.”
Following Carter’s death, his brother and Backstreet Boys singer Nick paid tribute to the star. “My heart is broken,” he wrote on Instagram. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.
“Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth….I love you baby brother.”
In January, Nick shared a tribute song to his brother called ‘Hurts To Love You’. “Cause it hurts to love you, but I love you still / Miss you with all my heart you know I always will,” he sang in the song.
The track followed the Backstreet Boys star setting up a children’s mental health fund in the wake of Carter’s death. The fund was launched to benefit On Our Sleeves, with Nick saying he and his sister Angel hoped fans would “celebrate the impact of the life of Aaron Carter with a gift of hope”.