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Heiress Casey Johnson, Daughter of Jets Owner Woody Johnson, Dies

By DNAinfo Staff on January 5, 2010 8:43am  | Updated on January 5, 2010 5:18pm

Casey Johnson, seen here at the August 14, 2008 opening of the Apple Lounge in West Hollywood, was found dead in her home Monday.
Casey Johnson, seen here at the August 14, 2008 opening of the Apple Lounge in West Hollywood, was found dead in her home Monday.
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AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

By Gabriela Resto-Montero and Jim Scott

DNAinfo Reporter/Producers

MANHATTAN — Casey Johnson, the 30-year-old socialite daughter of Jets owner Woody Johnson, was found dead Monday in her California home on the eve of the team entering the playoffs.

She was pronounced dead by paramedics at her Mulholland Drive house in West Hollywood around 11:51 a.m., the Associated Press reported.

Johnson had been dead for several days before her body was discovered by police, TMZ.com reported.

The Los Angeles Police Department initially reported Johnson died of "apparent natural causes," but added that an investigation is ongoing, the New York Post reported. An autopsy will be performed on the body on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office told the AP.

"Rest in peace Casey Johnson," hotel heiress Nicky Hilton (r.) tweeted Tuesday. "I love and miss you so much. You are my best friend, my sister...I am broken without you."
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AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Johnson, who suffered from juvenile diabetes, reportedly struggled with drug and alcohol abuse while her wealthy peers became reality television celebrities.

Johnson grew up in the Upper East Side along with fellow Manhattan socialites Nicky and Paris Hilton before moving to Los Angeles eight years ago. She reportedly turned down a role opposite Paris in Fox's 2003 reality TV hit "The Simple Life."

Paris Hilton mourned the loss of her friend via Twitter on Tuesday.

"In bed crying, looking at baby pictures of Casey, Nicky and I," Hilton tweeted. "I feel so upset. I feel like I've lost a sister. My heart is broken. Miss her."

The troubled socialite recently announced her engagement to reality TV personality Tila Tequila after purchasing a 17-carat diamond ring for her, according to the several published reports.

Tequila took to Twitter following the announcement of Johnson's death Monday.

"Everyone please pray 4 my Wifey Casey Johnson," Tequila wrote. "She has passed away."

Later on, she tweeted, "I can't stop these haunting visions of her and I. We made such a lovely couple, only beginning to spend the rest of our lives together...:

Johnson, who once interned for infamous Manhattan publicist Lizzy Grubman, talked publicly about her struggles with independence from her family name and fortune.

"When it was my turn to handle my own money it became a problem," Johnson said in an interview with LXTV in 2007. "I'm used to going to Bergdorf's and having a personal shopper, and buying whatever I want and charging it to my dad."

Woody Johnson had recently cut off Casey Johnson's trust fund. Her mother, Sale, took custody of Casey Johnson's 3-year-old adopted daughter, Ava, in December after Johnson was charged with stealing clothing from ex-girlfriend Jasmine Lennard, the Daily News reported.

"Her family was concerned over her well-being the past year," Johnson family friend Suzanne Webster told the News. "She had given them pause with her behavior, but I don't think anyone expected this."

Her arrest came after another ex-girlfriend, Courtenay Semel, daughter of former Yahoo chairman Terry Semel, called police to report the crime.

During their volatile relationship, Semel allegedly beat up Johnson and burned her hair, the Post reported.

Johnson showed signs of getting her life together when she launched her own line of skin care products in 2007, the same year she adopted Ava from Kazakhstan, according to the News.

"She once described her family money as the 'golden handcuffs'," Rob Shuter, a writer for AOL's Popeater and a Johnson acquaintance, told the News.

"She was the ultimate little, lost rich girl," he said.