

In addition to being an aspiring bodybuilder, Matthew was also an aspiring actor that was always looking to follow in the footsteps of his mother. Some speculated that Matthew had turned back to heroin as a result of the pain inflicted on his body from the intense working out, though there were likely many reasons that the man could never shake his demons. Matthew had been practicing bodybuilding for several years up until that point, and he was apparently abusing steroids in addition to his abuse of heroin.

In addition to the heroin, it was also found that there was a notable amount of anabolic steroids in the man’s body. When an autopsy was performed, it was found that lethal levels of heroin had been present in his system. Matthew’s body was founded lifeless in his pickup truck. His wedding was scheduled for just a month past the date of his accidental heroin overdose. After his stays in rehab, Matthew became engaged once more. He had been engaged once previously, though had fallen back into his heroin habit and destroyed the relationship. Matthew was 31 years old when he first went to rehab, and was in and out several times before apparently kicking the habit for good. There had been numerous periods where it seemed like Matthew had gotten his life back together, though he eventually always relapsed without anyone close to him finding out until it was too late, whether that be his mother or his various fiancés. Though Barbara still encouraged her son to kick the habit, she felt forced to leave the choice in his hands.Įventually, Matthew decided himself that it was time to kick heroin, and went to rehab on his own volition. Matthew’s issues with heroin started soon after he was 18, at which point Barbara felt it wasn’t within her rights to force rehab onto her adult son. The heroin overdose that killed Matthew occurred in June of 2001, though he had been dealing with substance abuse issues for over a decade beforehand. Since then, Barbara has worked as an advocate to try and encourage parents seeking to intervene into the substance abuse habits of their children. Barbara was devastated, believing that she could’ve done more to save her son’s life. Barbara had tried to help her son on numerous occasions, and believed him to be clean at the time of his passing.

Matthew was 35 years old at the time that he suffered his fatal heroin overdose, though he had been dealing with an addiction to the substance for many years.
