The shocking twist in Anne Burrell’s tragic death: Police are now investigating the possibility for a reason

The Food Network star was found dead at her Brooklyn apartment on Tuesday

Anne Burrell, April 2022.Credit : Hippolyte Petit/FilmMagic

Authorities are investigating the cause of Anne Burrell’s death as a possible drug overdose, according to The New York Times.

The Food Network star, 55, was “discovered in the shower unconscious and unresponsive surrounded by approximately (100) assorted pills,” The New York Times reported Friday, June 20, citing an internal New York Police Department document viewed by the outlet.

PEOPLE reached out to the NYPD for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Anne Burrell.John Lamparski/Getty

Burrell was found dead in her Brooklyn, N.Y., home on Tuesday, June 17.

A spokesperson for the NYPD later told PEOPLE the Worst Cooks in America host was found “unconscious and unresponsive” at the scene. EMS “responded and pronounced her deceased on scene,” police said.

​​According to a 911 call report provided to PEOPLE by the New York City Fire Department, a person called in at 7:50 a.m. local time, concerned that she had suffered cardiac arrest.

On Friday, the Times reported that a spokesperson for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner said her autopsy had been completed, but that any findings on the cause and manner of Burrell’s death were still pending.

The New York Times bestselling author spent her final weeks with friends and family, as well as helping others.

Less than two weeks before her death, Burrell visited a Florida nursing home called CareRite Centers on June 4 and June 5 to cook for residents and train in-house chefs as part of a healthcare dining initiative.

Anne Burrell.Dave Kotinsky/Getty

The initiative was to “elevate the standard of dining in healthcare” with meals that the celebrity chef deemed “good for the soul,” according to a press release.

Burrell’s visits with residents, patients, families and staff at locations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton “were nothing short of spectacular,” the release said.

She also took up improv as a hobby before her death. Just one night before she died, the celebrity chef and television star performed an improv show at The Second City New York in Brooklyn. The show was the finale of her course of improv classes, per her Instagram.

Chef Anne Burrell.Rick Kern/Getty

“Everyone said she was so great last night and so happy,” a source told PEOPLE.

The source added that everyone was “shocked and confused” because she seemed fine when everyone left the show.

About a week before, Burrell shared pictures of herself having dinner with a fellow Food Network star in New York.

“A delicious and delightful evening last night @sohohouse for @cheffalkner ‘s ‘One Night Only’ dinner,” she captioned a series of photos on June 11 of herself and Chef Elizabeth Falkner, and the meal she prepared. “SUUUUUUPER yummy with a great group of people. Thank you Chef for the invite and deliciousness!! #theclaxtons #ilovewhatido #luckygirl.”

She is survived by her husband Stuart Claxton, and his son, Javier, as well as her mother, Marlene, and sister, Jane, her children Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas, and her brother Ben.