On March 4, 2004, Bruce Hyma, the Miami-Dade County chief medical examiner and expert toxicologist hired by State Attorney Lawson Lamar ruled that Kairis had committed suicide via a prescription drug overdose.[19] The seven-year investigation was officially closed on April 13, 2005.[20] Regardless of the investigation's outcome, the Kairis family asked then Governor Jeb Bush to bring in an outside medical examiner to take another look at the case and autopsy results and order an independent investigation of their daughter's death to resolve what they called the "Dueling Medical Examiners".