Cory Monteith's Last Few Hours Reenacted on 'Autopsy'

Glee fans were left distraught and dismayed when 31-year-old Cory Monteith was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room July 13, 2013. A new TV special, Autopsy: The Last Hours of Cory Monteith, seeks to give them some closure by focusing on his tragic passing, as seen in Us Weekly‘s exclusive sneak peek.

The Reelz series will examine the timeline of events, as well as medical evidence, behind the actor’s death, on its Saturday, December 3, episode. According to Autopsy, Monteith — who played quarterback Finn Hudson on the Emmy-winning Fox musical series — was caught on camera returning alone to his 21st-floor British Columbia hotel room at 2:16 a.m. the morning of his death.

“Precisely what happens next is unknown,” forensic pathologist Michael Hunter says in the clip. “But 10 hours later, hotel staff find him collapsed on the floor, and near him on a table was a spoon with heroin residue, as well as a hypodermic needle.”

In the preview clip, Monteith, portrayed by an actor, is shown walking to his hotel room alone; the reenactment is designed to signify the real hotel footage captured in the final hours of his life. The scene is followed by the forensic team combing through Monteith’s coroner’s report, zooming in on key phrases in the report, including “locked room,” “unresponsive” and “a spoon with drug residue.”

Us reported on April 1, 2013, that Monteith was entering rehab for substance addiction. In a previously released clip exclusive to Us of this Autopsy episode, the actor is portrayed during a meeting with Glee creator Ryan Murphy as they discuss Monteith taking a break from the show for substance-abuse issues. 

Monteith did not appear in Glee‘s final two episodes of season 4, as they were filmed while he was seeking treatment, and he died before production began on season 5. (The cause of death was a mixture of heroin and alcohol.)

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Watch the preview clip above. Autopsy: The Last Hours of Cory Monteith airs on Reelz Saturday, December 3, at 8 p.m. ET. 

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