An autopsy has been conducted following the recovery of Glee star Naya Rivera’s body at Lake Piru, Ventura County, and authorities have concluded that her official cause of death was due to accidental drowning while swimming with her four-year-old son.
The GOAT team talk about Naya Rivera’s initial disappearance on ‘It’s Been A Big Day For…’ below:
In a statement issued out on Facebook by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the autopsy concluded accidental drowning was the official cause of Naya Rivera’s death, noting that the Glee star had neither drugs or alcohol in her system nor was she carrying any traumatic injuries or illnesses.
The autopsy concludes what’s been a tragic week for Naya Rivera’s friends and family as the Glee star disappeared on July 9 while boating with her four-year-old son, triggering a five-day search.
The details from Naya’s autopsy lines up with what investigators believe to have occurred on the day of her disappearance and from talking to her son, who was found alone on a rented boat and wearing a lifejacket hours after the Glee star went missing.
Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub stated in a news conference on Tuesday shortly after Naya’s body had been recovered that she “boosted” her son onto the boat’s deck from behind and that “he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”
Ayub then stated that investigators believe Naya had used all her energy swimming and to help her son back onto the boat but had no strength left to save herself.
“We believe it was midafternoon when she disappeared. The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting, it was unanchored, and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back into the boat, but not enough to save herself.”
Tributes have since poured in for Naya as fans and her Glee co-stars all expressed their sorrow over the news of her death and issued statements about what a talented and kind-hearted person she was.
Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan in particular remembered Naya Rivera as one of the “most talented, special stars” they’d ever worked with and had pledged to create a college fund for her four-year-old son.
“She was warm and caring and fiercely protective of the rest of the cast,” the trio said. “She was tough and demanding. She was fun. She was kind. She was generous.”
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