Mac Miller: Three charged with providing drugs that killed rapper

Three men have been charged with providing US rapper Mac Miller with the drugs that killed him, prosecutors say.

The rapper, whose real name was Malcolm McCormick, overdosed in September last year aged 26.

The men are accused of conspiring and distributing cocaine and oxycodone pills laced with the fentanyl that caused the overdose.

Cameron Pettit, Stephen Walter and Ryan Reavis face up to life in jail if found guilty and remain in custody.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles say Mac Miller thought he'd been sold a painkiller called oxycodone but it had actually been laced with fentanyl, a powerful drug that is 50 times more potent than heroin.

The coroner found fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol in his body and concluded he had accidentally taken an overdose.

Prosecutors say their evidence against Mr Pettit includes messages he sent after the body was discovered.

He told a friend: "Most likely I will die in jail."

Mac Miller on stage with his then-girlfriend Ariana Grande in Manchester in 2017

But the indictment accuses the men of continuing to deal drugs after the rapper's death.

The rapper had always been open about his issues with substance abuse and had been arrested for drink driving in May 2018.

Addiction was a big theme on his final album, Swimming, which was nominated for a Grammy after his death.

He was also coming out of a high-profile relationship, and break up, with pop star Ariana Grande.

They met in 2012 and performed together at the One Love Manchester concert in 2017.

In an interview with Vogue earlier this year she described him as "the best person ever" who "didn't deserve the demons he had".