New autopsy indicates Pantani was not murdered
A co𝐆caine a💦nd anti-depressive cocktail the likely cause of death



The police investigation sparked by suspicions that Marco Pantani was murdered is expected to end in the next two months after a key autopsy review indicated that Pantani died due to a heartꦐ attack sparked by a lethal overdose of cocaine and anti-depressant medication.
In recent months, reports🎃 in the 🐬Italian media based largely on one-sided information from the Pantani family lawyer Antonio De Rensis, had suggested that Pantani could have been forced to drink diluted cocaine from a bottle after being attacked in his hotel room in Rimini.
The new autopsy ordered by the Rimini police dispels those accusations and other circumstantial evidence that has raised doubts about Pantani's demise. A recently published book by local reporter Andr🐠ea Rossini also debunked the claims made by De Rensis and Pantani's mother.
According to Professor Franco Tagliaro’s 64-page report, “Marco Pantani died from an acute heart attack brought on by a mixture of medicinal drugs and cocaine.” He added that his death🥃 may be “due to excessive consumption🐎 of anti-depressants … with the ultimate aim of self-destruction.”
“No elements em💯erged to hypothesis a for𝔍ced consumption.”
While questions remain about the way the police carried out its investigation of the crime scene Tagliaro's report convinced the head of the investigation, Paolo Giovagnoli, to tell Italian med🔯ia that “at the moment t🎃here are no elements to think it was murder but the investigation continues.”
Giovagnoli has given Professor Tagliaro 4💎0 days to carry out further chemical analysis. Tagliaro suggests that the quantity of cocaine that Pantani consumed was not enough to kill him but will investigate if the reaction between cocaine and the anti-depressant tablets had a role in his death.
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Tagliaro suggests that a bed sheet and a television cable could indicate Pantani's desire to commit suicide, with an overdose of cocaine and anti-depressants cons♋umed alone proving to be fatal.

Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.