The New York City medical examiner’s office released the cause and manner of death of Zachery Tims on Thursday, more than two years after the Florida megachurch pastor died in a New York hotel room.
Julie Bolcer, director of public affairs for the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner, told Charisma News the cause of death is “acute intoxication by the combined effects of cocaine and heroin” and “the manner of death is an accident.”
Tims, 42, was found dead on the floor of a room in New York City’s W Hotel in Times Square on Aug. 12, 2011. His mother, Madeline Tims, fought the city of New York and the medical examiner’s office to keep his cause of death private.
Police ruled out foul play, but reports said he had a plastic bag filled with white powder in his pocket. By Tims’ own testimony, he was instantly delivered from drug addiction when he was saved.
Tims was senior pastor of the New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Fla. He started the 7,000-member church with his then-wife, Riva Tims, in 1996.
