Terry Bollea — known professionally as Hulk Hogan — died of natural causes, according to a report released Friday by the Clearwater Police Department, concluding its investigation into the July 2025 death of the legendary pro wrestler. He was 71.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
Clearwater authorities previously told NBC News that officers responded to a cardiac arrest call at 9:51 a.m. on July 24 of last year at his home. Hogan was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 11:17 a.m.
An autopsy determined Hogan died “exclusively from compelling natural disease, with no reasonable traumatic or terminal toxicologic contributions,” and ruled the manner of death as natural.
Clearwater police said there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
“Under the circumstances, it fell to the Clearwater Police Department to address, challenge, or validate some of the concerns in the case,” the department wrote. “Investigators had to interview multiple witnesses and review various recordings to answer questions central to our inquiry.”
Police closed the investigation on Friday, releasing details of the 911 call made on the day of his death as well as information from an interview with his occupational therapist.
In the 911 call, his wife Sky Daily Hogan is recorded saying, “My husband — it doesn’t seem like he’s breathing.”
According to the report, home health aide Dana Swinton said that she, Sky Daily Hogan, and occupational therapist Justin McCamey were all at the residence when Hogan stopped breathing. McCamey, who had been Hogan’s therapist for only two weeks, had arrived roughly 10 minutes before the incident. The three attempted CPR before the fire department arrived.
The roughly 70-page report also includes statements from officers who responded to and surveyed the scene at the former wrestling star’s Eldorado Avenue home. One account notes that a firefighter was called to assist with moving Hogan from the residence, while other members of the Clearwater Fire Department were already performing lifesaving measures.
McCamey told police that “Mr. Bollea’s health has been very poor ever since the surgery. Mr. Bollea has had approximately 20-30 various knee, hip, and back surgeries over the years.”
Sky Daily Hogan told police that her husband had undergone spinal fusion surgery on his neck approximately six weeks before his death. Prior to that procedure, he had also had a heart operation and had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, for which he had received one week of chemotherapy.
In an Instagram post following his death, Sky Daily Hogan described it as “sudden and impossible to process,” noting that he “had been dealing with some health issues.”
The police department expressed gratitude to the Hogan family, stating: “Their willingness to allow our investigators access to very personal information, at a time when they were grieving and struggling, was extremely helpful.”
Hogan was a towering figure in professional wrestling, widely credited with bringing the sport to mainstream audiences. His shirt-ripping bravado and larger-than-life persona gave rise to the cultural phenomenon known as “Hulkamania.”
