Coroner’s Office completes inquiry into SLO County Supervisor Adam Hill’s death
Upon reading a collection of late county Supervisor Adam Hill’s journals and notes found after his death in August, a San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s-coroner’s investigator said it was apparent Hill had been suffering from severe mental illness.
“The journals were that of an individual struggling with mental health issues, combined with social pressure, and pressures associated with the decedent’s employment,” Det. Coroner Rory Linn wrote in a report released late Tuesday. “The decedent clearly had passion for what he did in life, but mental health and external factors appear to have led him to suicide.”
The Sheriff’s Office released Hill’s coroner’s report Tuesday in response to a public records request by The Tribune.
It formalizes the agency’s preliminary conclusion it confirmed last month that Hill’s manner of death was suicide. The cause, it says, was an intentional overdose of cocaine and a prescription anti-anxiety medication used to treat depression.
Hill, 54, was found in his home in Shell Beach on Aug. 6, just days after he returned to work following treatment for clinical depression.
He spoke publicly about his mental health problems, and in late March confirmed he attempted suicide on March 11, the same day the FBI conducted a search of Hill’s office at the County Government Center. The FBI says it conducted two additional searches that day, including at a property in Pismo Beach and another location that the agency has not identified.
In July, Hill announced he was seeking “specialized care” for his mental health at a residential program, and returned home July 31.
According to the coroner’s report, Hill was found by his estranged wife in his living room after he didn’t return messages. A collection of notebooks and journals were found next to him.
There were no signs he had been in any physical distress or any signs of forced entry in his home.
Investigators found both cocaine and an anti-depressant medication at the residence. A toxicology report released Tuesday showed he had toxic levels of cocaine and the medication in his system.
Anyone who might be experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions in San Luis Obispo County is encouraged to call the local SLO Hotline, a confidential mental health guidance, crisis, and suicide prevention telephone line run by Transitions Mental Health Association. The hotline also provides mental health resource information. Call them any time at 800-783-0607.
