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Coroner reveals cause of death for KNCI’s Dan Cheatham

Former KNCI afternoon host Don Cheatham. (Photo: Facebook)

The Sacramento County Coroner has completed an investigation into the death of a beloved radio personality.

Daniel Cheatham, a former on-air host at Entercom-owned KNCI (105.1 FM), was found dead in his home in late October. His death was announced by colleagues Pat Still and Tom Mailey in a Facebook post the following day.

Cheatham, who spent most of his career working in the Sacramento area and for KNCI, was 50 at the time of his death.

Few details were available about what happened in the hours prior to police discovering Cheatham’s body. A Sacramento County official told The Desk a death investigation would be conducted with a report available in a few months.

That investigation was completed in January, an official told The Desk. The official cause of death was determined to be natural causes, though the coroner includes various ailments — including heart disease — among the many elements of a natural death.

Cheatham’s body was released to the Miller Funeral Home a few days after his passing, records reviewed by The Desk showed.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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