The cause of death for fitness influencer and bodybuilding champion Hayley McNeff has been confirmed. The 37-year-old was found dead at her home in Sudbury, Massachusetts, on August 8.
According to Brenna Galvin, Deputy Director of Communications for Massachusetts’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, McNeff died from acute intoxication caused by the combined effects of heroin, fentanyl, 4-ANPP, cocaine, and norbuprenorphine. Her death has been officially ruled an accident.
“Hayley was like a beam of light in this world,” her father, Dave McNeff, said in an earlier statement. “She had boundless energy and was very determined to achieve whatever she set out to do. She set her sights on bodybuilding and fitness and achieved the highest success that sector offered. She loved us, and we love Hayley very much. We miss her madly.”
Born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts, McNeff was a lifelong athlete, according to her obituary published by Boston.com on August 12. She attended Concord-Carlisle High School and later graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. From an early age, she excelled in multiple sports — including equestrian competitions, diving, and skiing — before ultimately channeling her drive into bodybuilding.
McNeff went on to win state titles in both Maryland and Delaware and was featured in the 2005 documentary Raising the Bar, which explored the intense world of competitive bodybuilding.
Later in life, she stepped away from the sport to pursue a graduate degree in psychology, continuing her lifelong passion for personal growth and understanding human behavior.
Her obituary remembered her for her “quick wit” and “constant sense of humor,” describing her as someone who had “a gift for making those around her laugh and feel welcomed.” It added, “Her energy and determination were constants in her life, and she always accomplished what she set out to achieve. She treasured her friendships and nurtured strong, lasting relationships with those who knew her best.”
Hayley McNeff is survived by her parents, siblings, extended family, and countless friends who remember her as an extraordinary light in their lives.
