Austin Majors Cause of Death: 'NYPD Blue' Child Star Actor Dead at 27

According to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's office, former child actor Austin Majors, best remembered for his role on 'NYPD Blue,' has died. He was 27.

Kali Majors-Raglin, his sister, verified the news to CNN by email. Austin Setmajer-Raglin Majors passed away on February 11. His family described Majors as "an artistic, brilliant, and loving human being" in a statement.

Austin Majors Found Dead

The big role for the former child actor occurred in 1999 when he played Theo Sipowicz, son of Det. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), on ABC's police program 'NYPD Blue.' According to IMDB, Majors featured in 48 episodes from 1999 to 2004.

Throughout the 2000s, Majors appeared on several television shows, including 'ER' and a 2005 two-episode storyline as the voice of Hyllus in the 'Hercules' miniseries. Through 2007, Majors also starred on 'NCIS,' 'According to Jim,' and 'Desperate Housewives.'

In 2009, his last professional credit was a cameo appearance on 'How I Met Your Mother' on CBS. He was also active on YouTube, according to his sister. According to his family's statement, Majors, who "liked camping and fishing," graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and had a passion for directing and music production.

'NYPD Blue' Actor's Cause of Death

According to sources, the fatal ingestion of fentanyl led to the death of 'NYPD Blue' star Austin Majors. The former child star reportedly stayed at a Los Angeles homeless shelter where his death was discovered, as per Mirror.

Yesterday, an autopsy was performed on Majors' remains, and the full toxicology findings are anticipated to be disclosed within a few months. Following Austin's terrible death, his family released a statement paying respect to him. On Twitter, tributes to the celebrity have been flooding in, with one fan saying, "So incredibly sad, rest in peace."

Austin Major's role in NYPD Blue earned him the 2002 Young Artists Award for Best Performance in a Television Series. He was nominated in 2003 and 2004 for the same prize. His performance in Treasure Planet won him another Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role nomination. According to his website, American actor Dennis Franz described the child as "a joy to work with."

In the weeks preceding his death from an apparent drug overdose on the weekend, Austin Majors exhibited disturbing behavior on social media. According to his IMDB website, Majors has not acted since 2009 and had just begun a music career under the moniker 'Pope!'.

In several recent articles, Majors pushed his music, a compilation of gloomy house music, while discussing existential issues and even acknowledged battling "isolation demons" months before his death.

Per Daily Mail, it is unknown whether Majors was experiencing homelessness at the time of his death or how long he had been staying at the shelter where he was purportedly discovered dead. In 2020, despite not having performed in almost a decade, Austin posted a photo of his Screen Actors Guild membership card on Instagram, stating that he had been a member for twenty years.

Majors had been pursuing a career in music instead of acting. In many online writings, he referred to himself as a "struggling artist." His music was filled with low notes and dissonant, a-melodic synthesizer lines, and it represented the same gloomy and disorganized state of mind as his social media posts.