On April 19, 2002, police kicked in Staley's apartment door to find Staley dead on his couch. His autopsy reported that a combination of heroin and cocaine known as a "speedball" that he had injected was a factor in his death. Staley was reported to be 6'1" and weigh only 86 pounds when his body was discovered, mainly because of his body decomposing due to him being discovered two weeks after his death.