On May 24, 2010,
The Des Moines Register reported that Gray was found dead in Room 431 at the
TownePlace Suites in
Urbandale, Iowa at about 10:50 a.m. local time. He was 38 years old. In a
911 call, obtained by
TMZ, one of the hotel's proprietors said that a hypodermic syringe was found next to Gray's bed and many pills were apparently scattered across the room. On June 21, 2010, the autopsy results showed that Gray had died of an overdose of
morphine and
fentanyl, and that he had also developed "substantial heart disease". The autopsy also revealed traces of the anti-anxiety pill
Xanax in his system.
Aftermath On the day after Gray's death, May 25, 2010, the band, without their masks, held a formal press conference in
Des Moines, Iowa. They did not take any questions from the media. The band, along with Gray's brother, Tony, and wife, Brenna, paid tribute to him. A private funeral was held on May 28, 2010. Gray was interred at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery in
Des Moines, Iowa. On November 8, 2010, items that decorated Gray's grave, including a Buddha statue and gargoyle statue, were stolen. The band responded to this event with a post on their MySpace and Facebook page, asking the robbers to return the stolen items and appealing for information from the public. On July 30, Paul Gray was posthumously awarded the
Kerrang! "Services to Metal" award, which was collected by his Slipknot bandmate
Corey Taylor on his behalf. In one concert,
Korn dedicated a performance of "
Did My Time" to Gray. Slipknot's former guitarist
Donnie Steele filled in on bass guitar for Gray on Slipknot's 2011 Summer tour. Slipknot shows during this time featured Paul's jumpsuit and self-titled album era pig mask on a stand, along with a bass guitar standing next to it. Fans honored Gray with a two-minute silence during the band's headline set at
Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth. Corey Taylor also got a tattoo of Gray and his number on the back of his left leg, which was documented in the television series
NY Ink, during the second episode of season one.
Trial against physician In September 2012, Gray's physician Daniel Baldi was charged with involuntary
manslaughter relating to Gray's death, as well as the deaths of at least seven others. He was accused of continually writing high-dose prescription narcotics to Gray from December 27, 2005 until his death, despite knowing Gray's history of drug addiction and abuse. The doctor appeared in court on September 27, 2012 to face the charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. On May 1, 2014, jurors found Daniel Baldi not guilty on all seven counts of involuntary manslaughter following two days of deliberation. Gray's wife Brenna had testified during the two-week-long trial that Baldi prescribed the anti-anxiety drug Xanax to her husband, despite knowing he was addicted to the prescription medicine. In January 2018, the family received an out of court settlement from a civil lawsuit they had filed against Baldi and his former employers. Two months later, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy permanently banned Baldi from being able to prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances for the treatment of chronic pain. ==Personal life==