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Jon Walters was the Register's player of the year in 2012 and he was part of USC's national championship team in 2013. He died on Jan. 8, and the coroner's report Tuesday details the circumstances.
Jon Walters was the Register’s player of the year in 2012 and he was part of USC’s national championship team in 2013. He died on Jan. 8, and the coroner’s report Tuesday details the circumstances.
Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

SANTA ANA – The death of former Mater Dei and USC water polo player Jon Walters has been ruled an accident due to complications from taking an anxiety medication and alcohol, the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s office said Tuesday.

In addressing the release of the autopsy and toxicological reports from Walters’ death, supervising deputy coroner Mitch Sigal said the complications of taking alprazolam and ethanol, or alcohol, led to Walters’ official cause of death: multi-system organ failure with aspiration pneumonia.

Walters, 19, died at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana on Jan. 8 at 3:35 p.m. after falling into a coma Jan. 1, his father, Bill, said.

The death rocked and puzzled the close-knit water polo community. As the autopsy report noted, Walters was 6-foot-3, 236 pounds at his death and had a body “well-developed, well-nourished.”

Walters’ imposing size and skill at 2 meters – as a freshman – helped USC capture the NCAA title in December.

He also was a dominating center at Mater Dei, earning player of the year honors in 2012, and a national team candidate. He played his freshman season at Newport Harbor before a high-profile tranfer to Mater Dei.

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Tuesday’s report noted Walters had other conditions such as marked cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart.

The report also said he had a clinical history of anxiety, insomnia, attention deficit disorder and chronic pain in his left elbow.

The Walters family told the Register shortly after Walters’ death he was prescribed Xanax, a psychoactive drug also known as alprazolam, for insomnia.

His brother, James, a senior water polo player at Mater Dei who is headed to USC, said Walters suffered “horrible” insomnia since his childhood.

Jon Walters spent his winter break from USC at his parents’ Newport Coast home, recovering from left elbow surgery Dec. 18, the family said.

On New Year’s Eve, he attended a party in the Orange area.

The family heard at some point Walters drank alcohol and took Xanax, which can be a dangerous combination.

On Jan. 1, Walters was transported by ambulance to Chapman Medical Center in Orange. The O.C. Sheriff’s Department reported that he arrived unresponsive.

After a few days, Jon was transferred to Western Medical Center, where he remained until he died.

Walters’ memorial service in January attracted an estimated 2,000 people.

He was remembered for being a “true friend,” a positive leader and role model in the sport of water polo.

“I don’t really know what happened to Jon that night,” Mater Dei coach Chris Segesman said in January. “For any high school kid, the message always is: You have to think twice about decisions you always make, and that could be anything.”

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com