Fox News reported that the boy's mother, Sally Townsend, said Thomas would spray deodorant followed by aftershave instead of taking a shower.

"He would go through a can a week," she told police.

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 42 cans were found in the 16-year-old boy's room.

"I didn't know he had so many cans in his room but he was a big hoarder," Townsend said.

The teen, who was in foster care for five years, was living at a children's home when he was found on his knees next to his bed in August.

"He sprayed (deodorant) all over himself and succumbed to the effects of the gas," coroner Rachel Redman said.

The cause of death was determined to be circulation collapse by butane gas inhalation. There were no drugs or alcohol in his system.

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Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC