I was 19 when I wrote this piece back in 1994 for The Elvis Beat #10, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

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Medical examiner Jerry Francisco, who was in charge of the autopsy performed following Elvis’ death in 1977, has been cleared of allegations that he lied on Elvis’ death certificate. Dr. Francisco ruled that Elvis had died of coronary arrhythmia, an irregular beating of the heart resulting from hypertensive heart disease.

For years there has been speculation that Francisco’s findings were part of a cover-up and that Elvis’ death was actually drug related. The controversy prompted the Tennessee health department to review the case several months ago.

The health department issued a two-page statement on September 29. “There is no basis to conclude that any person willfully and knowingly made false statements on  the death certificate of Elvis Presley,” the statement read.

The statement did not mention drugs or indicate whether heart disease was the best diagnosis. Due to privacy regulations, the full report will not be released.