The cause of Kris Jenner‘s younger sister’s death has been revealed.
Karen Houghton, the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch’s only sister, died of cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac arrhythmia, TMZ reported, citing her death certificate. The document shed further light on her health, revealing type 2 diabetes as a secondary underlying cause as well as a bipolar disorder diagnosis. She was 65 years old at the time of her unexpected death on March 18. According to the certificate, per TMZ, Karen was cremated.
Kris confirmed her sibling’s death in an Instagram post the next day.
“It is with the heaviest heart and deepest sadness that I share that my sister Karen passed away yesterday unexpectedly. My heart aches for my mom MJ and my niece Natalie and I pray that God guides us all through this difficult time,” the mom of six wrote. “Karen was beautiful inside and out. She was the sweetest, kindest, the most sensitive and vulnerable and so so funny. She always felt grateful and thankful for her life and treasured her family and friends and especially her beautiful daughter.”
Continued the famed momager, “She holds such a huge part of my heart and I cherish every single memory we have together. Karen’s passing is a reminder that life is so short and precious and tomorrow is never promised. We must tell those we cherish how much we love them. I love you my beautiful sister.”
Karen was Kris’ only biological sibling. Their parents, Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon and Robert True Houghton later divorced and Robert died in a car crash. The sisters gained a stepbrother from MJ’s second marriage.
The sisters’ relationship was at times strained. While they seemed to be estranged by 2013 — with Kris telling RadarOnline at the time that they were not in touch — they seemed to be on better terms by 2019 when they appeared in a photo together.
“We loved each other, and we were there for each other through thick and thin,” Kris wrote of Karen in her 2011 memoir, Kris Jenner… and All Things Kardashian, “and to this day we are a part of each other’s lives.”
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