American Idol ‘Garbage Man’ Doug Kiker Dead at 32 after suspected heart attack/drug overdose
American Idol 2020 contestant, Doug Kiker who went viral as the “singing garbage man” is dead at 32. Kiker died Monday, according to his ex-fiancée, Valerie Cook. His brother William and mother Joyce also confirmed Doug’s death.
TMZ was first to report the news. Cook told the outlet that she hates that her kids lost their father. An official cause of death has not been determined.
A passerby called 911 fearing Kiker was experiencing a drug overdose. He died in the hospital 5 days later
TMZ reported later that Kiker was rushed to the hospital after a concerned passerby walked by him on the street. His look was “so worrying” that the person called paramedics. The passerby believed Kiker might be experiencing a drug overdose.
Emergency medical services units transported Kiker to the hospital where he died five days later, TMZ reports. The outlet’s non-law enforcement sources said that drugs caused Kiker to have a heart attack, which landed him in the hospital
The medical examiner has not announced an official cause of death. An investigation is ongoing.
The former contestant’s death was addressed by multiple posts from family members … his sister Angela Evans posted a GoFundMe that said the family needed help because “this was completely unexpected we are completely unprepared and are gonna need a little help getting him home from denver colorado and being able to give the memorial that not only he but anyone deserves.”
Doug Kiker pulled heartstrings at his American Idol audition with “God Bless the Broken Road”
Kiker’s American Idol audition song, “Bless The Broken Road” brought Katy Perry to tears on Season 18 of the show. She and fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan gave him a golden ticket to Hollywood. Doug’s hook was that he had no experience singing professionally. He was eliminated in the following round after singing Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
Doug was such a popular character, that he returned to the season 18 finale to sing his audition song, “God Bless the Broken Road with country group Rascal Flatts. Months after the show, American Idol aired a rosy update on Kiker after he got his teeth fixed.
Doug Kiker arrested in 2021 on Domestic Violence charges
However, trouble was just around the corner. In 2021, Mobile, Alabama police arrested Kiker on domestic violence charges.
Mobile Police lieutenant Matthew James told TMZ that they arrested Kiker for misdemeanor domestic violence (harassment). He sat in jail on a $1,000 bond.
The sheriffs office said that officers responded to a report of domestic violence allegedly involving the singer and an adult woman. The arrest occurred after she called 911. The nature of their relationship was unclear at the time.
