Roach Eating Contest Death By Choking Says Medical Examiner [Video]

West Palm Beach, FL – The roach eating contest death of Edward Archbold has been determined to have been caused by choking according to the medical examiner who performed the autopsy. As previously reported on The Inquisitr, Edward Archbold entered the live roach eating contest at the Florida-based Ben Siegel Reptile Store in order to win a free python. Archbold reportedly ate dozens of roaches, worms, and other insects during the four-minute contest only to vomit, collapse, and be rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Ben Siegel, the shop’s owner, said Archbold was “a super nice guy.”

“He was outgoing. He was the life of the party,” Siegel said.

Originally, investigators were unsure what caused the roach eating contest death, although some speculated that the cause was an allergy or an unknown bacteria or pathogen. The roach eating contest death was a surprise to the pet store.

After all, there were other contestants and none of them died from mysterious causes. All the contestants signed a waiver beforehand and were forbidden from drinking alcohol. The roaches and other bugs the contestants ate were not wild, but raised in captivity as pet feed.

According to the New York Daily News, the roach eating contest cause of death of Edward Archbold was eventually determined to be choking. After winning the content, Edward Archbold “gagged and heaved violently outside the Ben Siegel Reptile store in Deerfield Beach” immediately after the contest ended.

The Broward County Medical Examiner believes piles of bugs he had just eaten became lodged in his windpipe and he asphyxiated later on at the hospital. Toxicology reports showed no lethal substances in his system, and the roach eating contest cause of death was listed as an accident.