Brody's Notes... Bullied Minnesota Teen’s Death Officially Ruled A Suicide

Lance Lundsten

By Editors LGBTQNation (Chandler, Arizona) MAR 9 | The mystery surrounding the January death of Lance Lundsten, the Minnesota teen whose controversial death sparked renewed conversation about bullying and teen suicide across the nation, has finally been revealed.

Dr. Mark Spanbauer, the Douglas County Medical Examiner, confirmed Monday that the Lance’s death was in fact a suicide. [KSAX-TV]

According to the toxicology report from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and MEDTOX, the cause of death was a mixed drug ingestion, according to Spanbauer.

You may recall that on Jan. 18, Lance’s father called KSAX-TV and said he received a call from the coroner saying Lance had an enlarged heart and died of a coronary edema, not suicide.

According to Spanbauer, Lance’s heart was slightly enlarged, but that finding was a secondary finding, and not the cause of his death.

At the time of his death, friends reported that Lance suffered extreme bullying and harassment for years. Lance had revealed on Facebook that he was openly gay, and some students at his high school said he was bullied for his sexual orientation.

Lance died on Jan. 15 — he was 18-years-old.