FORMER STATE SENATOR Brian Joyce, who was found dead in his Westport home in late September, died from a barbiturate overdose, according to the state medical examiner’s office.

Joyce died from “acute pentobarbital intoxication,” according information provided Tuesday afternoon by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Pentobarbital is a powerful sedative that can be prescribed for insomnia or used an as anesthetic.

Joyce, a former longtime lawmaker from Milton, was facing federal trial on corruption charges at the time of his death on September 27. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges in a sweeping indictment in December 2017. The 113-count indictment accused him of taking bribes and kickbacks through his private law practice.

He left office in January 2017 after not seeking reelection to the Senate where he had served since 1997. He and his family subsequently moved to Westport.

While ruling that the cause of death was a drug overdose, the medical examiner said the manner of Joyce’s death “is undetermined,” indicating that there was no finding as to whether he died as a result of suicide, accidental overdose, or homicide. A message left with the Bristol district attorney’s office was not immediately returned. The office would handle any potential investigation of the death.

The day before he died Joyce had been involved in single-car automobile accident near his home. It was unclear whether there was any connection between the accident and his death.

In early October, the US attorney’s office dismissed all charges against Joyce, citing his death.