Celebrity Autopsy Shockers: Mysteries From The Morgue

Celebrity deaths are a big deal in the media — but the stars are quickly forgotten once they're laid to rest! Their secrets aren't safe from The ENQUIRER, though. Now we dig up troubling truths and disturbing mysteries behind the tragic ends of some of the biggest names in comedy, television, music, films and sports!

JOHN RITTER: The beloved “Three’s Company” star DIDN’T die from natural causes — but was MURDERED! That’s the theory of a longtime friend who insists the star’s death was covered up to make it appear the 54-year-old comic genius died of a supposed aortic dissection. “He died at 10:48 p.m., almost five hours after being brought to the hospital by paramedics,” said the source, "but he had been sick on the set all day, with vomiting and sweats — classic symptoms for poisoning!" Top Hollywood private eye Paul Huebl says, “it’s not too late to get answers. He’s buried at Hollywood’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and it would take only a few hours to quietly dig him up, perform an autopsy, look for needle marks, take toxicology samples and then rebury him!”

JOAN RIVERS: The true causes of the caustic comic's death will never be known — because the motor-mouth comic and star of “Fashion Police” wasn’t given an autopsy! Joan, 81, went into cardiac arrest during a routine procedure to evaluate acid reflux at New York’s Yorkville Endoscopy clinic on Aug. 28, 2014. She died on Sept. 4. Famed forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht called the failure to thoroughly investigate her death outrageous, even though Rivers’ doctors have denied any wrongdoing. “When you have a death occurring like this during elective surgery, an autopsy has to be done,” he insisted. But the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office refused to comment on whether it was conducting a criminal probe.

JOHN LENNON: The murdered Beatle's autopsy report has never been released — leading to explosive claims the document may contain scandalous medical facts that his widow, Yoko Ono, wants to keep secret forever! On the night of Dec. 8, 1980, the 40-year-old superstar and Yoko were about to enter their historic New York City apartment building, The Dakota, when crazed stalker Mark David Chapman, 25, killed Lennon with four shots at close range from a revolver. An insider told The ENQUIRER: “While John clearly died from the horrific shooting, Yoko Ono would not allow the autopsy report to be released to the public. That means we’ll never learn if alcohol or drugs — legal or illegal — were in his system when he died!"

ROBIN WILLIAMS: The comedian's death at his Tiburon, Calif., home on Aug. 11, 2014, was ruled a suicide – but an expert has claimed the investigation may have overlooked murder! According to the autopsy report, Williams, 63, who'd been prescribed a cocktail of potent medications for Parkinson's, “had enough drugs in his system to at least fall asleep,” said private investgator Dan Hanks, a former technical advisor to the Marin County Sheriff. “So the scenario of drugging him first would make sense, because you can manipulate him very easily and place him in any position you want!” Hanks added there's little evidence the star died the violent death that's usually expected from a hanging. “The ligature marks are not especially demonstrative, and there was little or no hemorrhaging,” he said. “That suggests he was asleep or incapacitated at the time his oxygen supply was cut off!”

MICKEY ROONEY: Eyes were raised after the Hollywood legend's passing on April 6, 2014, after a doctor signed the death certificate without an official autopsy — even though two of his daughters believe he was poisoned! Ed Winter, assistant chief medical examiner for L.A. County, admitted his office didn’t conduct toxicology tests to detect any chemicals in his bloodstream, which Rooney’s daughters, Kelly, 56, and Kerry, 54, suspect were present. They became suspicious after learning their dementia-stricken father signed a new will on March 11, 2014, that cut out his seven surviving biological children and basically left his entire estate to stepson Mark and his wife, Darlene. The sisters can’t afford to exhume their father’s body — but Rooney biographer William J. Birnes said that while their father was lying in state, Kelly “cut off a bunch of Mickey’s hair. Now they have the evidence if something turns up in his hair follicles!"

CHRIS BENOIT: Shocking new autopsy evidence reveals pro wrestler Chris Benoit was suffering from fatal drug and steroid damage – and had less than a year to live when he murdered his wife and son before killing himself! After suffocating wife Nancy and their boy Daniel, 7, the wrestler hung himself at their Fayetteville, Ga., home in June 2007. Former sister-in-law Sandra Toffoloni claimed new evidence points reveals Benoit’s long use of drugs and steroids damaged his heart and triggered a murderous paranoia. “The medical examiner told us Chris was on his way to death within 10 months,” she said. “His heart was huge, about three times normal and ready to blow up. He had a serious drug problem. The paranoia was a direct result of abuse of steroids!"