• US-born heiress clutching a cocaine pipe when found dead in London home, coroner says

    Dave Benett / Getty, file

    Eva Rausing and her husband Hans Kristian Rausing appear at an event in 2010.

    By Reuters

    LONDON -- The American wife of one of Britain's richest men, whose body lay rotting at their London home for two months after her death, died from cocaine abuse, a coroner said Friday.

    Eva Rausing, whose husband Hans is heir to a fortune from the Swedish packaging firm Tetra Pak, was found in July in an advanced state of decomposition under layers of clothes and garbage bags in a fly-infested room on the second floor of their six-story townhouse in an upmarket area of London.


    The 48-year-old's body was only discovered after police officers went to their house after stopping her husband for driving erratically.

    Multi-millionaire Rausing pleads guilty to preventing US-born wife's burial

    She was found holding a silver foil, which had been rolled up as a pipe, indicating it had been used for smoking cocaine. A post-mortem established that she had died more than two months earlier in May.

    Deputy coroner Shirley Radcliffe ruled that Rausing, who suffered from the heart condition tricuspid valve disease and had had a pacemaker fitted, had died from cocaine intoxication.

    Husband 'devastated'
    Hans Rausing, who was given a suspended 10-month jail sentence in August for preventing the "lawful and decent" burial of his wife, said he had not been able to deal with losing her.

    "I'm devastated by my beloved wife's death," he said in a statement read to Westminster Coroners' Court. "I could not cope with her dying or confront the reality of her death."

    He said he had been in the bathroom shaving when he heard her slide off the bed.

    Police struggle to shed light on US-born heiress' death

    "She landed sideways and her head was resting on a pillow. I tried to pull her up. I shouted 'Eva, Eva, Eva,'" he said, before covering her body with blankets and bedding.

    The couple, who have four children, had a long history of problems with drugs. They first met at a U.S. rehabilitation center and gave generously to addiction treatment centers.

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    Eva Rausing's family has said it believed she turned to drugs in her late teens to overcome acute shyness.

    The Swedish Rausing family made a fortune by building up the Tetra Pak drinks packaging business, but Hans' father sold his share of it to his brother in the 1990s, and is now worth an estimated $10 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

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  • Police struggle to shed light on US-born heiress' death

    Alan Davidson / Picture Library Ltd via AP, file

    Eva Rausing, right, and her husband Hans Kristian Rausing attend a party at the U.S. ambassador's residence in London in November 1996. American-born Eva Rausing was found dead in her west London home on Monday.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    LONDON - Investigators were conducting further tests Wednesday in a bid to shed light on the death of Eva Rausing, one of Britain's richest women, whose body was found in her west London home.

    Detectives were waiting to question her husband, Hans Kristian Rausing, who has been arrested in connection with her death but was admitted to a secure hospital for treatment on Tuesday, according to the Evening Standard.

    The police were treating U.S.-born Eva Rausing's death as unexplained. 

    Eva Rausing and her husband were wealthy philanthropists who have both waged a long battle against drug addiction. They were arrested on drug charges in 2008 after Eva Rausing was caught trying to smuggle crack cocaine and heroin into the U.S. Embassy in London in her handbag. 

    Hans Kristian Rausing, 49, is an heir to the TetraPak fortune his father built as a globally successful manufacturer of laminated cardboard drink containers. 

    US-born heiress found dead in London mansion

    Police found Eva Rausing dead at her multimillion-dollar London home on Monday. 

    The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested a 49-year-old man Monday in connection with the case. Police did not release the man's name but offered details of the arrest in response to a question about Hans Kristian Rausing. 

    They said they arrested the man on suspicion of drug possession, and that a subsequent search of an address in London's upmarket Belgravia neighborhood related to that arrest led to the discovery of Eva Rausing's body later that day. 

    Police said he remained under arrest Wednesday but was receiving medical attention at a location away from a police station. They would not say if the man was under guard. 

    'Devoted wife'
    Eva Rausing's parents, Tom and Nancy Kemeny, and the rest of her family paid tribute to a "devoted wife" and mother of four "much loved and wonderful children," saying they were devastated over her death. Their statement also alluded to her struggles. 

    "During her short lifetime she made a huge philanthropic impact, supporting a large number of charitable causes, not only financially, but using her own personal experiences," the family said in a statement. "She bravely fought her health issues for many years." 

    A statement from her in-laws, Hans and Marit Rausing, said they were "deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death." 

    Andrew Cowie / AFP - Getty Images

    The terraced street on which Eva Rausing lived with her family.

    Eva Rausing supported a number of charities that helped to fight addictions. One of them -- Action on Addiction -- was among the first to express sadness over her death and praise her "wonderfully generous" support over the years. 

    She also was listed as a long-time supporter of The Prince's Foundation, part of a group of nonprofit charities that have Prince Charles as their patron. His office said the prince was told of Rausing's death but did not offer further comment. 

    In a diplomatic scandal in 2008, Eva Rausing was arrested outside the U.S. Embassy in for reportedly trying to bring crack cocaine and heroin into building in her handbag. Police later found small amounts of cocaine, crack and heroin in a search of the couple's house. They were charged with drug possession but prosecutors later agreed to drop the charges in exchange for formal police warnings. 

    At the time, the Rausing family issued a statement saying relatives were "deeply saddened" by the couple's drug problems and hoped they could overcome their addictions. 

    Hans Rausing's Swedish father helped transform TetraPak into a hugely successful manufacturer. The fortune of the senior Rausing and his family is estimated at 4.3 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) by the Sunday Times Rich List. 

    Msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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