Casey Johnson, troubled heiress to the pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & Johnson fortune and fiancé to VH1’s A Shot of Love star, Tila Tequila, was found dead in her west Hollywood home Monday by a maid.
According to TMZ.com, who cited a Los Angeles law enforcement source, the 30-year-old, “born with a silver spoon in her mouth” diabetic daughter of Robert Wood Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, had been dead for several days. Her father was enjoying the Jets’ epic wild card berth in the NFL playoffs when he received the sad news.
Johnson, who was recently cut off to her trust fund because drugs and alcohol problems, lived a spotlight-obsessed life and socialized with the likes of Paris and Nicky Hilton, godmother of Johnson’s daughter, Ava. Paris Hilton expressed her condolences in a Twitter message saying she felt like she lost a sister.
Johnson had no role in the health care products company that her great-grandfather founded in 1886, even though she and her two younger sisters were heirs to the fortune. The family’s involvement with the corporation ended decades ago. According to a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson, “The family is mourning its tragic loss and asks for privacy during this very difficult time.”
In November, Casey was arrested on grand theft charges, accused of breaking into the Hollywood apartment of her ex-girlfriend, fashion model Jasmine Lennard.
“I tried to get her off drugs and alcohol,” Lennard recently said in a published report. “I tried to get her into a 12-step program. I tried to help take care of her daughter. I’ve given her money.”
Family friend, Suzanne Webster, called Casey “a sweet but troubled girl.
According to the Associated Press, an autopsy Tuesday found no evidence of trauma on her body and a determination of the cause of death was deferred pending toxicological tests and microscopic studies that could take eight weeks or more.
