Autopsy Report Says Belli Died of Natural Causes

SAN FRANCISCO —  An autopsy has found that famed attorney Melvin Belli died of natural causes.

The report released Friday revealed that Belli, who was 88, died of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, said city coroner’s office spokesman Herb Hawley. Belli also was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Belli’s son, Caesar Belli, had requested the autopsy, claiming that the circumstances surrounding his father’s July 9 death were suspicious.

Coroner’s officials said investigators found traces of morphine in Belli’s blood, but they said the levels were consistent with its medical use as a pain medication for cancer.

“Based on all the tests we’ve done, [Medical Examiner] Boyd Stevens is confident that the cause of death is cardiac-related,” Hawley said.

Belli’s death had come just before a planned court showdown over the assets of his law firm, which had been forced into bankruptcy this year. Caesar Belli had accused Nancy Ho Belli, the lawyer’s wife of 11 weeks, of attempting to sell off those assets, including some promised to Caesar and the couple’s children.