The official cause of death for award-winning contemporary Christian singer Mandisa has been revealed, with an official saying that the 47-year-old died from obesity-related health issues.
Mandisa had been found dead in her home on April 18, with many speculating about the cause of death, as the former “American Idol” contestant’s struggles with depression being well documented.
The autopsy report, a copy of which was acquired by People magazine, listed Mandisa’s death as being related to Class III obesity and was of natural causes.
WebMd defines Class III obesity as being when a person has a body mass index of more than 40 (a normal BMI range being 18.5-24.9), “a BMI of greater than 35 with at least one serious obesity-related condition, or being more than 100 pounds over your recommended weight.”
Born Mandisa Lynn Hundley and a native of Citrus Heights, California, Mandisa was the singer of many popular Christian and inspirational songs, including “Overcomer,” “Stronger,” and “We all Bleed the Same.”
In a 2022 interview with The Christian Post, Mandisa discussed her struggles with mental illness, noting that she found healing through counseling, community and deepening her relationship with God.
“I'm a big fan of counseling, and I think it's also important that you have people in your life, be it family, friends, people at church, whoever it is, to be able to talk to these things,” she said at the time.
“I don't want to see any more headlines of people committing suicide, and that's what happens when it stays in our minds, when we don't want to talk about it. You start believing the lies and before you know it, it's over. And I think the way to counteract that is to bring it out, to talk to people about it.”
When Mandisa was found dead on April 18, some speculated that her death might have been self-inflicted, with police determining days later that there had been no foul play involved.
Mandisa’s father, John Hundley, denied such ideas at her celebration of life service on April 27th at Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, explaining that the singer had been struggling to recover from a COVID-19 infection and was quite weak as a result.
“She did not harm herself,” Hundley stated. “She told me some time ago that she had gotten COVID-19 and she had been weak trying to get over that. But she was trying to press through.”
“We talked so much on Easter morning, but I thought she was going to this conference, and so I had not called her recently but I've talked to her a lot. May she rest in peace now.”
