The death certificate for Aaron Carter shows that the pop star was cremated less than a week after his death in Los Angeles.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Health revealed that the 34-year-old singer was cremated on Nov. 9, according to TMZ, and his ashes were left to his sister, Angel Conrad. Carter, whose occupation is listed as “musician” in the “entertainment” industry, was declared dead at 11:14 a.m. on Nov. 5. According to the document, his mother, Jane, was the relative first informed about his passing.
The certificate also indicated that an autopsy was performed; however, the cause of death is deferred, as more tests are needed to determine his cause of death.
Carter was discovered dead in his bathtub on Nov. 5 after a 911 phone call was made about a possible drowning. Police reportedly found cans of compressed air in Carter’s bathroom and bedroom and prescription pills.
Andy Symonds, the co-author of Carter’s controversial unfinished memoir — the publication of which has since been put on hold — wrote in the book that Carter had told him he struggled with taking Xanax and huffing canned air like Dust Off. According to Symonds, he wasn’t doing either in 2019 as they worked on the book about the highs and lows of his life.
The “I Want Candy” singer became famous at a very young age as he sought to stand out in his talented family, which includes his older brother Nick, a member of the Backstreet Boys.
Carter opened for the Backstreet Boys in Germany at the age of 8. His “Aaron’s Party” album was certified Triple Platinum when he was 12.
He allegedly got into drugs at an early age as well. In his book, originally planned for publication on Tuesday, Nov. 15, he revealed he started smoking weed when he was around 11. He claimed he spent $30,000 on ecstasy one summer when he was 15.
Carter said he dabbled in heroin, but quit it after getting sick. He also got into Xanax and said he took some from another patient while at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Desert — a trip he claimed Nick paid for because he was taking “more Xanax at that point than ever before.”
It’s unclear what Carter’s relationship with drugs was when he died. Symonds said he last spoke with Carter in April 2021. Symonds said they met three times in person in 2019 and 2020 for the project.
In the book, Carter describes some eerie bathtub moments.
He recalled falling asleep in one as a young child star in need of a break.
“I remember locking myself in the bathroom of one of our hotel rooms and falling asleep in the bathtub because I needed more sleep,” he wrote. “My mom broke down the door, afraid I was drowning in there.”
He said shortly after his 18th birthday, he booked a trip to Amsterdam, where he overdid it with mushrooms.
“I was all alone tripping, talking to the bathtub, watching the curtains, and having all these emotional highs and lows, seeing everything from rainbows to lightning,” he wrote. “I always overdid everything.”
In the memoir, Carter claimed he was always suicidal, but never planned to actually do it.
“I was always suicidal, especially through those years. I never attempted suicide, but never had anyone to talk to about it,” he wrote. “But I knew I loved life too much to actually do it.”
Since his death, those close to him have offered tributes. He leaves behind a son, Prince, who turns a year old on Nov. 22. Prince’s mom is Carter’s on-again, off-again fiancée, Melanie Martin.