DJ Erick Morillo's Death Ruled Accidental by Medical Examiner

Erick Morillo, a world-renowned house DJ, was found dead in his Miami Beach home on September 1.

October 13, 2020

Erick Morillo was found dead in his Miami Beach home on the morning of September 1. Photo by George Martinez

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A preliminary report from the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department says the death of Erick Morillo, the international house DJ found dead in his Miami Beach home last month, was an accident.

The report, which was obtained this morning by New Times, says Morillo died of "acute ketamine toxicity" and lists MDMA and cocaine use as a contributing cause of death. The final autopsy report is expected to be released within the next two weeks.

Miami Beach police officers were dispatched to Morillo's home on La Gorce Drive around 10:45 a.m. on September 1. Someone in Morillo's circle, whose name and relationship are redacted in police reports, went to Morillo's home to check on him after not hearing from the DJ for several days.

The person called 911 after finding Morillo "unresponsive" in his bed, according to a Miami Beach Police Department incident report. The person told police they had last seen Morillo the night of August 28 and that Morillo was known to be "reclusive in his room for days at a time," the report says. The person tried reaching Morillo by phone several times and became worried.

Morillo made news over the summer when he was arrested on a sexual battery charge on August 6. According to Miami Beach police, a woman accused him of raping her last December. Court records show Morillo had pleaded not guilty.

Morillo, also a record label owner and music producer, was born in New York and grew up in Colombia and New Jersey. He started DJing as a teen and eventually became among the highest-paid DJs in the world. Morillo was most popular for the international dance hit "I Like to Move It," which topped charts on several continents and appeared in Dreamworks' Madagascar movies.

The medical examiner's report is embedded below:

PDF — 2020-5683_VOD.pdf

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