(PatriotWise.com)- According to the Collin County, Texas medical examiner’s office, former Dallas Cowboys player Marion Barber III died from a heat stroke amid the record-setting heat wave that has been sweeping across the state.
Barber’s badly decomposed body was found in his Frisco, Texas home on June 1 when police conducted a welfare check on him.
He died at the start of a Texas heat wave that has seen temperatures soaring to the triple digits.
According to National Weather Service records, during the week Barber’s body was discovered, Frisco’s daily high temperatures were ranging between the high 80s and low 90s. But when officers arrived at Barber’s apartment, the thermostat was to 91 degrees with the heat setting turned on.
The medical examiner’s report noted that Barber was known to work out in “sauna-like conditions.” His death was ruled an accident.
Frisco police said Barber’s family members had not heard from him for six days.
An employee at Barber’s apartment complex contacted police on June 1 expressing concern for Barber’s welfare. The employee told police that a neighbor had submitted a service request on May 11 due to a water leak coming from Barber’s unit. The employee was unable to reach Barber on either May 12 or 13 and the numerous phone calls and emails to Barber went unanswered for two weeks, so the employee decided to call the police.
When police arrived at Barber’s apartment on June 1, they found an unopened letter the employee left on Barber’s door.
The officers found Barber’s body in the bathroom shower.
A funeral for the former Pro-Bowl player was held at the Huntington Bank Stadium on June 22 at the University of Minnesota, Barber’s alma mater.
Marion Barber III was 38 years old.
