How did Hank Williams Jr.’s wife die in Florida? Medical examiner releases cause of death

Mary Jane Thomas, wife of country singer-songwriter Hank Williams Jr., died on March 22 in Jupiter of a collapsed lung that was accidentally punctured one day earlier during surgery at the Jupiter office of Bafitis Plastic Surgery.

According to a report from the Palm Beach County medical examiner and signed by Dr. Heidi Reinhard on July 22, the exact cause of Thomas’ death was a “pneumothorax due to perforated parietal pleura during liposuction with an autologous fat reinjection procedure.”

A pneumothorax is a collapsed lung.

READ MORE: Who was Mary Jane Thomas? Hank Williams Jr.’s wife was a Florida model

The parietal pleura is a membrane that folds back on itself to form a two-layered sac. The outer layer is called the parietal pleura and attaches to the chest wall, according to the National Library of Medicine. Along with pleural fluid, the lung pleura allows for easy movement of the lungs and inflation during breathing.

But what happened in Thomas’ case, according to the autopsy report, is that her lung collapsed after the surgeon, Dr. Harold Bafitis, punctured the membrane during the breast implant removal part of her procedure. Thomas also had liposuction to her back, arms and stomach under Bafitis’ care. She had been cleared for the cosmetic procedure by her physician in Tennessee, according to the medical report.

The death was ruled accidental, according to Reinhard’s report. Thomas, a Daytona Beach native who lived in Tennessee with Williams, was 58. The reports refer to Thomas as Mary Williams.

Thomas, a former model before she married Williams Jr. in 1990, was visiting Florida for the elective surgery, according to Jupiter Police Department forensic investigator Jessica Baird’s report, filed on March 23.

According to that report, Thomas died in the emergency room of Jupiter Medical Center a day after she was released from surgery that took place March 21.

Thomas was recovering in a room at Jupiter Beach Resort and had told her caretakers her pain level was “between six and seven, out of 10” and was last seen alive by caregiver Deborah Stephens.

At that time, Thomas was sitting up in bed, speaking normally, when suddenly, she became unresponsive. Stephens called the front desk and the hotel manager called 911.

Thomas had been prescribed ibuprofen and Dilaudid (hydromorphone) for pain. Both, along with fentanyl and lidocaine and other medications, were listed in the toxicology report.

The forensic report also noted that Thomas had previously been admitted to a rehabilitation center for alcohol addiction and was a smoker, but no alcohol was found in her system. Jupiter detectives noted that no alcohol containers were in Thomas’ room at the time.

The toxicology report also noted Thomas had mild cerebral edema (mild brain swelling), mild coronary artery disease and fatty metamorphosis of the liver.

Bafitis, her surgeon, had arrived at Thomas’ hotel room at 5 p.m. for a followup visit about 10 minutes after she became unresponsive. He spoke to detectives at Jupiter Medical Center and told them her vitals were normal during surgery and had no known allergies to medications, according to the report.

According to Baird’s forensic report, Thomas’ husband, Williams Jr., communicated indirectly with detectives via his business manager and when told an autopsy was to be conducted the morning after she died, his business manager relayed to detectives by text, “Spoke to Mr. Williams. He understands you need to do what you need to do.”

According to medical records, Thomas, who was Williams’ third wife — they met in 1985 and would have two children together — had previously suffered from hypothyroidism, chronic neck and back pain and insomnia.

Bafitis has been licensed to practice medicine in Florida since 1989, according to his online profile with the Florida Department of Health. He has offices in Jupiter and Wellington.

The Miami Herald reached out to Bafitis through his practice. His assistant said Bafitis would offer a statement via email. He had not responded by Tuesday afternoon.