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What was Hunter S. Thompson’s cause of death?

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Hunter S. Thompson, who was in failing health, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in 2005 at his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. He was 67 years old. At the time he was on the phone with his second wife, Anita Thompson, who later said she heard the “clicking of the gun,” though at the time she thought it was a typewriter. A note was found at the scene, and some believe it was a suicide note. It was entitled Football Season Is Over and read:

“No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won’t hurt.”

According to Thompson’s wishes, his funeral was an extravagant affair. Close friend Johnny Depp reportedly spent $3–$5 million on the event, which included Thompson’s ashes being shot out of a cannon.

In 2025 Anita Thompson asked that his death be reviewed. She believed that Juan Thompson, Hunter S. Thompson’s son from his first marriage, and Juan’s wife might have been involved. The couple, who denied any wrongdoing, were visiting the weekend Hunter S. Thompson died. In January 2026 the Colorado Bureau of Investigation concluded that “Thompson suffered from significant depression and chronic pain” and that “all speculative theories could not be substantiated.” Anita Thompson accepted the findings, saying, “This allows all of us who loved Hunter to move forward with a clean conscience.”