story of adult star found dead 'naked from waist down' after 'warning'

Porn star Olivia Nova was positioned face down on a bed when police found her dead, naked from the waist down and with bruising on her leg, leading to fears of foul play

Porn star Olivia Nova was found dead on this day five years ago (January 7, 2018) in Las Vegas, aged just 20, lying naked from the waist down.

Nova, whose real name was Lexi Forde, had bruising on her leg and was positioned face down on a bed. Police initially called homicide detectives, fearing she had died unnaturally.

According to her friends, this came just months after she was warned by doctors to get sober.

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A post-mortem report eventually concluded that Nova's death was not suspicious, and was more likely a result of an infection turning into sepsis.

It added that she had been dead for "at least 12 hours" before being found.

A resident of the home where she was found had called 911 in the morning, saying that Nova was "struggling to breath".

They also said she seemed "out of it and very ill like she was having drug withdrawals" the day before.

In the days following her death, The Mirror revealed that she'd been warned she would die if she didn't turn her life around.

Lexi had reached out to pals for help in getting sober and desperately wanted to turn her life around, her close friend Jimmie Romero said.

"Lexi knew her days were limited, she was told in October by doctors," he explained.

"She was at a friend's house trying to get sober. She had three days off of everything. She said she wanted to change her lifestyle - she looked in my eyes and said to me, 'I want to stop and change my life. I have a family that loves me.'"

Jimmie saw the warning signs and begged Lexi to get to hospital to detox fully.

But Lexi decided not to seek medical treatment, choosing instead to help another friend who was "heading down a dangerous path".

"I am indebted to Lexi for her selfless act. She passed trying to save others and I believe that's the stuff saints are made of," Jimmie said.

It emerged that Lexi had been seriously injured after crashing a snowmobile while drunk in 2014.

She also lost a close friend to suicide in 2016 and then her boyfriend to a heroin overdose in April 2017, a month after she'd started in the porn industry.

Lexi later claimed on Twitter that his overdose had been deliberate.

High school friend Taylor Johnson said that Lexi was dealing with all these tragedies in the run-up to her death.

"Her lifestyle kind of changed drastically in the last year and I know she was recently feeling pressure about her busy upcoming schedule, and believe her and her new boyfriend might've been arguing," she said.