The body of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was flown home to his devastated loved ones Tuesday as Colombian authorities continued to probe the legendary rocker’s suspected overdose.
Exclusive DailyMail.com images captured a plain, black casket containing the musician’s remains being loaded onto the band’s tour plane after it flew from LA to Bogota to collect him.
Chartered 757 plane took off just after 2 pm local time from El Dorado Airport on Tuesday, and was back at LAX by 8 p.m. PST.
DailyMail.com has learned that the Foo Fighters’ heartbroken tour manager Gus Brandt stayed on in Colombia after Dave Grohl and the rest of the band flew home Saturday, a day after Hawkins, 50, was found dead in his room at the plush Four Seasons Casa Medina.
Exclusive DailyMail.com images captured a plain, black casket containing the remains of Taylor Hawkins being loaded onto the band’s tour plane after it flew from LA to Bogota to collect him
DailyMail.com has learned that the Foo Fighters’ heartbroken tour manager Gus Brandt stayed on in Colombia after Dave Grohl and the rest of the band flew home Saturday, a day after Hawkins, 50, was found dead in his room at the plush Four Seasons Casa Medina
El Dorado Airport, Tuesday at 2:45 p.m. local time. The charter 757 plane was expected to return to Los Angeles Airport around 7:30 pacific.
Hawkins’ casket was transported to Los Angeles by a funeral van. Shortly before the plane departs, the airport’s cargo area was occupied by a van that is believed to transport Taylor Hawkins.
Hawkins, 50 years old, was found murdered in his private room at Four Seasons Casa Medina
Officials from the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science released Hawkins’ body to Brandt on Sunday afternoon after completing an extensive autopsy which is expected to confirm that the star’s heart gave way after a huge drugs binge.
A local undertaker stored the remains before they were loaded onto a van Tuesday afternoon and driven into a cargo terminal at the city’s international airport, where a private jet was waiting on the tarmac, having flown in early in the morning.
Brandt declined to comment when reached by phone but sources at Colombia’s Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Hawkins’ body was on board the airliner as it took off at 2:09pm local time.
Initial results released by the Colombian Attorney General’s Office over the weekend reported ten different drugs in the rock icon’s urine, including opioids, marijuana and benzodiazepines, a class of psychoactive drugs used to combat anxiety and insomnia.
Hawkins’ heart also weighed at least 600 grams, double that of a typical man of his age, according to the early findings reported by Colombian weekly magazine, Semana.
Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters, performs live onstage during the After Party for Los Angeles’ Premiere of “Studio 666” at Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on February 16, 2022.
Hawkins last appearance was on March 18, 2022 at Lollapalooza in Santiago (Chile) They were due to perform another Lollapalooza Brazil in Sunday’s.
A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office told DailyMail.com that any further update would take at least another week.
On Friday, the drummer began to feel chest pains just before a sold-out Bogota gig.
Staff at the hotel called emergency services. However, Hawkins didn’t respond when security got to his room. The city and private doctors tried to revive Hawkins but were unsuccessful.
Luis Carlos Velez, a Colombian journalist well-known, stated that Hawkins’ 500-per-night residence was occupied by a policeman who claimed to see a “cocaine-like” white powder.
Unconfirmed reports also claim that the drummer had several glasses in his room. This led to speculation that he may have been entertaining guests.
Taylor Hawkins (left), daughter Annabelle Hawkins (center) and wife Alison Hawkins (right) pictured together at the Los Angeles Premiere of Studio 666 last month
Dave Grohl, an emotional man, sobbed while he hugged his friends and band members at LAX Saturday night. This was just a few days after his shocking loss.
DailyMail.com understands the inquiry into Hawkins’ death was handed over to the Attorney General’s Office as soon as cops learnt he was a ‘high-profile’ American citizen.
The probe is expected to focus on which substances found in his body were prescription medications he had taken prior to landing in Bogota last Wednesday – and which were illegal drugs he might have consumed once he got to the famed ‘cocaine capital’.
‘Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office can confirm the following after the initial autopsy on the body of Taylor Hawkins,’ the Attorney General’s Office wrote.
‘That in the toxicology test on Taylor Hawkins’ urine 10 types of substances were preliminarily found, including marihuana, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and opioids.
News: The band revealed the news on their social media on Tuesday afternoon
“The National Institute of Forensic Medicine (NIFM) is continuing medical research to clarify all facts surrounding Taylor Hawkins’s death.
‘Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office will continue with the investigation and reveal the results obtained as part of this investigation as appropriate.’
After Grohl (53), was observed weeping on LAX’s tarmac as he returned Saturday night to LAX with his guitarists Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and keyboardist Rami Jaffee, the Foo Fighters had cancelled their forthcoming tours. Background singer Samantha Sidley also saw Grohl.
‘We’re sorry for and share in the disappointment that we won’t be seeing one another as planned, the band announced.
‘Instead, let’s take the time to give, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we’ve made together.”
Hawkins was married to Alison, an illustrator, and father to Oliver, Annabelle, and Everleigh. The band had recently completed several South American tour dates.
Bogota National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, was the place where Taylor Hawkins died.
At the Casa Medina, Bogota, members of the Technical Investigation Corps remove Taylor Hawkins (drummer of Foo Fighters), lifeless body.
The group had been scheduled to play at the Festival Estéreo Picnic in the Colombian capital where an announcement told concert-goers that the band would not be playing due to a ‘serious medical condition’.
Soon, shocked fans started to gather in front of the Four Seasons Casa Medina north Bogota where they had been staying to light candles and pay tributes.
According to a Secretariat of Health spokesperson, the drummer for Foo Fighters had sought assistance from staff at the hotel after suffering chest pains.
‘The health professional that was dealing with the emergency indicated attempts to revive the patient had been carried out but there had been no response and the patient was pronounced dead,’ the statement said.
“The authorities took the body out and began investigating the incident.
“We are sorry for the loss of this world-famous and talented drummer. We send our condolences and thoughts to his loved ones, friends and family.
Hawkins is pictured with a young fan in Paraguay days before his death. He helped Emma Sofía, nine, fulfil her dream of playing drums with his band, Foo Fighters
After Grohl had seen Hawkins playing drums with Alanis Morissette, the Food Fighters recruited him to their ranks in 1997.
Hawkins is no stranger to the abuse of wild drugs. He was in London for a heroin overdose that put him in a coma lasting around one week.
He said in an interview that he had admitted last year: “Everyone has their path, and I went too far.” One night I was out partying in London and made a mistake that changed everything.
‘I believed the bull***t myth of live hard and fast, die young.
‘I’m not here to preach about not doing drugs, because I loved doing drugs, but I just got out of control for a while and it almost got me.’