The Patriot's Skye McCole Bartusiak Died of Accidental Overdose

The primary cause of death was the "combined toxic effects of hydrocodone and difluoroethane with carisoprodol."

By Bruna Nessif Oct 14, 2014 2:33 AMTags
Skye McCole Bartusiak Alison Buck/WireImage

Skye McCole Bartusiak's cause of death has been revealed.

E! News confirms that officials have ruled that the 21-year-old, who was best known for her role as Mel Gibson's youngest daughter in the 2000 film The Patriot, died of an accidental overdose. The primary cause of death was the "combined toxic effects of hydrocodone and difluoroethane with carisoprodol."

According to the National Institutes of Health, Hydrocodone is found in pain killers, carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant and difluroethane is an inhalant found in household products that can be used to get high.

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Bartusiak died unexpectedly in her sleep at her Texas home in July.

She was remembered during a touching memorial service in Houston, held at the Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church on July 25, where a number of her family and friends gathered to honor the fallen star.

"If you want to remember her, remember that smile and remember that laugh," her brother, Stephen, told several hundred mourners at a service. "So remember my sister for being that free-spirited, happy-go-lucky rasta girl."

"If you want to know what makes Skye happy, go out and plant a tree," Stephen added. "Make it a place you can go to when you want to reflect. Make it a place where you write or where you think. But make it your safe place, because that's what Skye would want."

"She lit up the room," her father, Don, said during the service. "Skye's ability to engage people emotionally was exceptional."

—Additional reporting by Holly Passalaqua