BATON ROUGE - The earliest reports from the East Baton Rouge Coroner's Office autopsy of deceased serial killer Derrick Todd Lee indicate the man died of natural causes.

The coroner is still waiting on final results from pathologists. Lee died Thursday at the age of 47.

Earlier Friday, Department of Safety & Corrections spokesperson Pam Laborde said East Baton Rouge Parish is handling the autopsy in this case because the rural West Feliciana Parish where Lee died does not perform their own.

Laborde says the Department of Safety & Corrections doesn’t always perform autopsies for inmates, but in some cases, an autopsy is performed simply to confirm the suspected cause of death.

Lee’s death certificate was issued in West Feliciana Parish, and not the parish where he was hospitalized and eventually died, because he was assigned to Louisiana State Penitentiary.

Details about why Lee was rushed to the hospital prior to his death were limited due to rules set by HIPAA and other state and federal laws regarding inmate privacy. Some sources earlier in the week indicated that Lee was hospitalized in part due to an issue with his pacemaker. All DS&C spokespersons could confirm explicitly was that the death row inmate was taken to an area hospital for emergency treatment. More info on Lee's death is available by clicking here.