Nearly a year of unanswered questions about Hulk Hogan‘s death now have an official answer, and it is what the first reports suggested all along.
The Clearwater, Florida Police Department announced Friday that it has completed its investigation into the WWE legend’s death, determining that Hogan died of an attended natural death. A 72-page investigative report confirmed there was no evidence of foul play or criminal wrongdoing.
Officers arrived at Hogan’s Clearwater residence at 10:21 a.m. on July 24, 2025, following a call about a possible medical emergency. CPR was performed before the wrestling icon was taken to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:17 a.m. The cause of death was determined to be an acute myocardial infarction. The WWE legend also had a history of lymphocytic leukemia and atrial fibrillation.
‘Following an exhaustive review of the statements, medical records, surveillance footage from within the residence, and a visual inspection of Mr. Bollea’s body, there has been no evidence to indicate the death of Terry Bollea was anything other than natural,’ investigators wrote. ‘Through the course of the investigation, there has been no evidence to indicate any criminal wrongdoing related to his death.’
The investigation had been complicated from the start by claims made at the scene. According to the 72-page report, Hogan’s occupational therapist, Justin McCamey, told police that Hogan was in very poor health following recent surgeries. His wife, Sky Daily, said he had undergone neck spinal fusion surgery about six weeks before his death, heart valve surgery three weeks earlier, and was also receiving chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. McCamey also alleged at the scene that a surgeon had damaged Hogan’s phrenic nerve during a recent procedure, a claim that sparked immediate speculation about medical malpractice. In a follow-up police interview, McCamey walked back his own assertion, saying he was ‘not a neurosurgeon’ and had only worked with Hogan for two weeks before his death.
Daughter Brooke Hogan had been one of the most vocal voices pushing for answers. On a an appearance on the Bubba the Love Sponge Show, she raised questions about a nurse who was present at the home on the day her father died and has since been unreachable, and questioned why a private doctor, rather than the ER physician on duty, signed the death certificate. An attorney accompanying her described the circumstances as highly unusual based on his three decades of medical malpractice experience. The family had also filed a petition in October 2025 to extend the statute of limitations for a malpractice investigation.
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A private autopsy arranged by Sky Daily and Hogan’s son, Nick, found that he died “exclusively from compelling natural disease, with no reasonable traumatic or terminal toxicologic contributions.” WFLA
Clearwater police thanked Hogan’s family and their attorney, Kevin Hayslett, for their cooperation throughout the investigation. ‘Their willingness to allow our investigators access to very personal information, at a time when they were grieving and struggling, was extremely helpful,’ the department said.
Hogan, whose real name was Terry Gene Bollea, was 71 at the time of his death. He had openly discussed his physical toll, having acknowledged undergoing roughly 25 surgeries in the previous decade, including hip and knee replacements and around 10 procedures on his back. He is survived by wife Sky Daily, children Brooke and Nick, and two grandchildren.
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