Robert DeNiro’s daughter claims son Leandro died from taking fentanyl-laced pills

Robert DeNiro’s 18-year-old grandson died after taking an overdose of fentanyl, claims his mother. 

The Oscar-winning actor’s heartbroken daughter, Drena DeNiro, 51, made the claim on Wednesday on Instagram that someone sold her beloved son, Leandro, 18, drugs that were tainted,

‘Someone sold him fentanyl laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him,’ Drena said. 

She added: ‘For all these people still f–king around selling and buying this s–t, my son is gone forever,’ she added.

The grieving mother made the remark in response to a commenter, who asked her how her son had died.  

Leandro’s shock death happened on Sunday when the teenager’s lifeless body was found sitting in a chair beside white powder inside a $950,000, one-bedroom apartment in the Cipriani Club Residences on Wall Street, New York.

His cause of death has not yet been confirmed. 

Drena’s post garnered more than 213 likes with many others sharing their own grief  of how their children and loved ones died from drugs, suicide and other devastation.

One mother wrote about her son who died in the same way just shy of his 17th birthday.

‘I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. My heart breaks for him and your family. My incredibly son was taken for us in October 2020 at 16 by someone who gave him fentanyl in our own home and left him to die alone in the basement of our home,’ she wrote. 

‘He would have turned 19 in December 2023. The pain never goes away and will soften at best. There are no words. I will be praying for your family.’

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is also major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Tuesday, she described holding her son Leandro for the final time in a heartbreaking Instagram post shared the day after he died. 

She wrote in the post that she would hold her son ‘for the last time’ and said ‘my heart is broken forever’.  

His mother – an American actress adopted by De Niro after the actor married her mother, Diahnne Abbott in 1976 – announced his death on Monday, saying: ‘I wish that love alone could have saved you’.

She later added a close-up monochrome photograph of Leandro laughing, thanking friends and family members who had offered support in the wake of his unexpected death. 

Drena, an American actress was adopted by De Niro after the actor married her mother, Diahnne Abbott in 1976. She announced her son’s death on Monday, saying: ‘I wish that love alone could have saved you’.

She later added a close-up monochrome photograph of Leandro laughing, thanking friends and family members who had offered support in the wake of his unexpected death. 

Messages of love and support poured in from close friends and family on Leo’s tragic passing. 

Victoria Gotti wrote:  ‘Dreana you gave SO much as a single parent as did Leo back to you. He knew who ‘his rock was!’ I love you and will miss my dear ‘young BD’ beyond words. A smile STILL comes to mind the day I bought him his first red bike and he tore through the beautiful apt! Much to your dismay! But he was so very ‘special and loved’ one could not help it,’ she wrote.

‘A better mom no kid can ask for. Use those memories like Thanksgiving at my new home last year and channel them through your mind. As we both kno(in your words ) from one ‘ badass mom to another…..we rock!’ You were his rock my dear. Never forget that. Ever. I love you. I am here for you and your family during such a most difficult and trying time!! And Leo will always remain in my memory bank and minds eye imaging for eternity. Love to you my sister!’