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Breaking: DJ AM Found Dead In Manhattan Apartment
By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Aug 28, 2009
Modified Aug 28, 2009
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By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Aug 28, 2009
Modified Aug 28, 2009
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Celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, was found dead in his Lafayette Street apartment this afternoon. He was 36. According to TMZ, "Sources tell us he was found in his apartment at around 5:20 PM. We're told drug paraphernalia was found at the scene. Our sources say DJ AM had not been seen or heard from for a few days -- one of his friends went to check on him, but got no response after knocking on his apartment door."
The friend called the authorities and the FDNY reportedly gained access to the apartment. TMZ later added, "Sources say a pipe commonly used to smoke drugs was also found inside the bedroom." DJ AM, who had been engaged to Nicole Ritchie, survived a September 2008 plane crash, when a private Learjet crashed on takeoff in South Carolina; the crash took the lives of four others. DJ AM and the other survivor, Blink-182's Travis Barker, suffered second- and third-degree burns from their injuries. He had also spoken openly about his weight battle, previous drug addiction and a suicide attempt.
Just this past Sunday, DJ AM had thrown out the first pitch at the Mets home game. His last Twitter message, sent on Tuesday, was from Grandmaster Flash's New York New York "New york, new york. Big city of dreams, but everything in new york aint always what it seems."
Update: TMZ now reports that DJ AM was "completely devastated" after his girlfriend Hayley Wood allegedly called things off in the past week, adding, "We're also told he was having a very hard time dealing with post-traumatic stress from the plane crash he survived in September of last year. DJ AM has been sober for nine years, but our sources say the breakup and the stress over the plane crash could have caused him to start using drugs again."
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Adam Goldstein
celebrity death
DJ AM
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Jacob Dobkin
Jake Dobkin co-founded Gothamist with Jen Chung. In 2019, Jake released Ask a Native New Yorker, a book based on his Gothamist advice column.
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