Medical records and a Phoenix police case report are painting a grim picture of Josh Mauro’s final hours, with the former NFL defensive end reportedly on a four-day cocaine bender before his accidental overdose death in April at 35.
According to the report first obtained by the California Post, Mauro had been hosting several women, including a dancer he had met a week earlier, at his Arizona home in the early hours of April 23. The woman told police she was invited along with a friend and two other women.
She said Mauro and a friend started snorting cocaine while “all of them” drank tequila and listened to music. After a few hours, the dancer and the other women went upstairs to sleep, leaving Mauro and his friend downstairs.
When she woke up, she said she found Mauro alone on the floor and apparently dead. She then tried to revive him and called emergency services.
The woman also told police that Mauro had said he’d been on a “bender for four days” before she arrived. She said she noticed he would get frequent nosebleeds and sweat after snorting cocaine.
The report says investigators found a bottle cap containing a white substance near Mauro’s body, along with a white powdery substance near a rolled-up dollar bill, tissues with apparent blood on them and a syringe in a trash can.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner had already ruled Mauro’s death an accidental overdose, with traces of fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol in his body, along with cannabinoids and caffeine.
Mauro’s death was first announced by his father, Greg, who wrote: “With many tears and broken hearts, yet anchored in the unshakable certainty that our precious Josh Mauro is now healed and made new - living in the presence of the Lord - we humbly covet your prayers as our family walks through the devastating loss.
It added that Mauro 'breathed his last breath on this earth and his first breath in heaven.'
Born in St Albans near London, England, Mauro moved to the United States when he was three and grew up in Texas. He became a standout in high school before playing college football at Stanford.
He went undrafted in 2014, then signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent, but his time there ended quickly when he was released during final roster cuts.
Mauro eventually found his footing with the Arizona Cardinals, where his NFL career took shape. He spent four seasons there from 2014 to 2017, then returned for another stint from 2020 to 2021.
Mostly used as a rotational defensive lineman and occasional starter, Mauro had his best statistical season in 2016, when he started 13 games and finished with a career-high 42 tackles.