See an aerial view of the corn maze honoring Colts owner Jim Arcee
The Lark Ranch in Greenfield, Indiana, created a corn maze in honor of the late Colts owner Jim Arcee.
The FBI is investigating the circumstances of late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s death and the addiction recovery specialist who treated him in his final moments, The Washington Post reports.
On January 22, the Post reported that a review of the federal grand jury subpoena showed the FBI was seeking “records and information regarding Mr. Irsay’s death, his ‘drug use (illicit and prescription),” and his ‘relationship with Dr. Harry Harutunyan,’ a Southern California-based addiction recovery specialist.”
Federal agents traveled to Indianapolis for “several days” in January and met with people close to Irsay, the newspaper said, citing two people familiar with the agency’s investigation. These people remained anonymous because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
The late Colts owner passed away last May at the age of 65 while vacationing in Beverly Hills. The newspaper said that at the time of Irsai’s death, Harutyunyan was staying at the same hotel and was “supervising Irsai’s treatment.”
Irsay’s death certificate, signed by Harutyunian, listed the official cause of death as cardiac arrest due to acute pneumonia, with previous heart problems also contributing. Last August, the newspaper reported that the Beverly Hills Police Department, which initially investigated Irsay’s death, did not perform a toxicology report or an autopsy.
Last August, the newspaper also reported there was evidence that Mr. Irsay had “secretly relapsed” after years of battling drug abuse, despite his public claims of innocence. The newspaper reported that Irsay had suffered three overdoses in the six years before his death, once in 2020 and two more in two weeks in 2023.
The newspaper said Harutyunian served as Irsay’s personal physician during his tumultuous battle with addiction.
The newspaper reported that Harutunian prescribed opioids and injected ketamine to Irsai during his final months after his relapse. The Post said Harutunian’s large prescriptions (200 opioid pills just before Irsay’s two overdoses in 2023) and ketamine treatment “alarmed” those close to Irsay.
Although ketamine is a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as an anesthetic, its use to treat patients with substance abuse problems is “controversial” because the drug itself can be abused, the newspaper reported. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ketamine can cause hallucinations and increase heart rate and blood pressure.
Irsay has been vocal about his fight against mental health issues and has not shied away from publicly commenting on his struggle with addiction. Irsay and the Colts launched a charity called Kick the Stigma in 2020 that aims to “raise awareness about mental health and combat feelings of shame associated with mental illness,” according to its website.
Irsay took over the Colts from his father Robert after Robert passed away in 1997. After his death, Jim Irsay passed ownership of the Colts to his three daughters, Carly Irsay Gordon, Casey Foyt, and Karen Jackson. Irsay Gordon serves as the team’s principal owner and CEO.
