Robert De Niro’s grandson died from ‘toxic’ combination of illicit drugs, including fentanyl and cocaine and his death is ruled an accident, medical examiner says

Robert De Niro’s grandson died from ‘toxic’ combination of illicit drugs, including fentanyl and cocaine and his death is ruled an accident, medical examiner says

• Leandro De Niro died last month aged 19 of an accidental overdose
• Leandro’s mother, Drena De Niro, 51, was adopted by the famed actor when he married her mother in 1976

By Sophie Mann For Dailymail.Com

Updated: 21:04 BST, 8 August 2023

Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez died of a ‘toxic’ combination of illicit drugs, according to a New York City Medical Examiner.

Autopsy results of the 19-year-old were shared with the New York Post Tuesday and revealed that the young man had fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine in his system when he died.

The medical examiners ruled the death an ‘accident.’

Last month a woman was arrested in connection to the overdose death for allegedly selling him fentanyl-laced pills.

Leandro’s mother shared this photo of her son as she mourned ‘my beautiful sweet angel’ on Instagram last month

Robert De Niro (right) pictured alongside late grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez (left) and Drena De Niro (center)

Law enforcement sources said that Leandro was found dead early last month, sitting in a chair in his apartment.

A friend found him after not having heard from him for a few days.

According to a criminal complaint, texts between Leandro and 20-year-old Sophia Marks were discovered, in which the pair discuss the purchase of counterfeit oxycodone and Xanax in the days before his detah. 

Following his unexpected passing, his mega-star grandfather, De Niro, 79, issued a statement in reaction to the tragic news.

‘I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo. We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo,’ he told Page Six at the time.

Leandro’s mother, Drena De Niro, 51, wrote in a tribute to her only child: ‘You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you.’ 

De Niro adopted Drena in 1976 when he married her mother, Diahnne Abbott. The pair divorced in 1988 after welcoming another child.

The Oscar winner has five other children, including a baby girl named Gia he welcome in April with girlfriend Tiffany Chen, 43, with whom he has been linked since summer 2021.

Leo as a baby in photos where he is wearing a ‘Pee all you can Pee’ Pee-wee Herman shirt 

The teenager’s lifeless body was found sitting in a chair inside a $950,000, one-bedroom apartment in the Cipriani Club Residences on Wall Street

Leandro was found unresponsive in a $1million home with a white powdery substance on a plate near his body, police told DailyMail.com. 

He’d lived alone in the upscale sixth-floor apartment, renting the unit for less than a year, he said. The apartment is located in the same stone building as Cipriani, a luxury venue for events. 

At the time, his mother and father, renowned graffiti artist Carlos Rodriguez, shared a statement: ‘It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo. We thank you for the outpouring love and support and ask that we are given privacy this time to process this inconsolable grief.’ 

:

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk