Julia Roberts’ half-sister Nancy Motes found dead from 'apparent drug overdose': family
By Nancy Dillon AND Cristina Everett / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014, 2:44 PM
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...g-overdose-article-1.1608653#ixzz2sybGXfbaThe coroner told the Daily News that Motes, 37, was 'found in a bathtub that contained water' and that prescription and non-prescription drugs were found at the scene.
Julia Roberts' sister Nancy Motes (r.), pictured in August 2013, was found dead Sunday in Los Angeles.
Julia Roberts’ half-sister was found dead in a bathtub Sunday afternoon, the victim of a suspected drug overdose, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
Nancy Motes, the youngest sister of the Academy Award-winning actress, was pet-sitting at the house when she was found by her fiancé, a well-placed source told The News.
An official with the Los Angeles County Coroner said the death was originally reported as a suicide but that a final determination will take weeks.
Both prescription and non-prescription drugs were found at the scene, the coroner official said.
Motes, 37, did not leave a visible note at the scene, and there were no signs of foul play, a law enforcement source said.
Roberts’ family confirmed the tragedy in a statement Monday.
“It is with deep sadness that the family of Nancy Motes ... confirms that she was found dead in Los Angeles yesterday of an apparent drug overdose," the statement said. "The family is both shocked and devastated."
Police and paramedics responded to the death scene, a rental house on N. Bundy Drive, around 2 p.m. Sunday, a fire department spokesman confirmed.
A source said the home is rented by a surgeon. Asked if the death was drug-related, the source said, “That’s probably the case.”
Motes was a professional dog walker and pet sitter operating in the area
Nancy Motes holds a photo of herself with half-sister Julia Roberts during an interview conducted last summer.
The case was “reported to (the) coroner as a suicide,” Craig R. Harvey, chief of coroner investigations for Los Angeles County, told The News in an email.
“The decedent was found in a bathtub that contained water. There were prescription and non-prescription drugs found at the scene. The role the drugs may or may not have played is not yet known,” Harvey said.
He said investigators will almost certainly require additional toxicology tests to reach a final cause of death following an autopsy planned for Monday.
In August, Motes gave an interview detailing her estranged relationship with her famous sister, claiming Roberts, now 46, teased her about her weight.
“When I was in high school and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight,” Motes said at the time.
“It just makes me feel incredibly hurt and very sad,” added Motes, who once weighed nearly 300 pounds before her decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery in June 2010.
She said she hoped her transformation would help repair their fractured relationship, but she noted it was still “a work in progress.”
“It’s not going to be fixed overnight, nor do I think it’s going to be fixed at this point by me just getting skinny.”
At the time of the interview, Motes was living in a coastal apartment with her fiance John Dilbeck, a film and TV locations manager.
The couple had planned to wed in May.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...drug-overdose-article-1.1608653#ixzz2syaFqbQ5
By Nancy Dillon AND Cristina Everett / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014, 2:44 PM
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...g-overdose-article-1.1608653#ixzz2sybGXfbaThe coroner told the Daily News that Motes, 37, was 'found in a bathtub that contained water' and that prescription and non-prescription drugs were found at the scene.
Julia Roberts' sister Nancy Motes (r.), pictured in August 2013, was found dead Sunday in Los Angeles.
Julia Roberts’ half-sister was found dead in a bathtub Sunday afternoon, the victim of a suspected drug overdose, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
Nancy Motes, the youngest sister of the Academy Award-winning actress, was pet-sitting at the house when she was found by her fiancé, a well-placed source told The News.
An official with the Los Angeles County Coroner said the death was originally reported as a suicide but that a final determination will take weeks.
Both prescription and non-prescription drugs were found at the scene, the coroner official said.
Motes, 37, did not leave a visible note at the scene, and there were no signs of foul play, a law enforcement source said.
Roberts’ family confirmed the tragedy in a statement Monday.
“It is with deep sadness that the family of Nancy Motes ... confirms that she was found dead in Los Angeles yesterday of an apparent drug overdose," the statement said. "The family is both shocked and devastated."
Police and paramedics responded to the death scene, a rental house on N. Bundy Drive, around 2 p.m. Sunday, a fire department spokesman confirmed.
A source said the home is rented by a surgeon. Asked if the death was drug-related, the source said, “That’s probably the case.”
Motes was a professional dog walker and pet sitter operating in the area
Nancy Motes holds a photo of herself with half-sister Julia Roberts during an interview conducted last summer.
The case was “reported to (the) coroner as a suicide,” Craig R. Harvey, chief of coroner investigations for Los Angeles County, told The News in an email.
“The decedent was found in a bathtub that contained water. There were prescription and non-prescription drugs found at the scene. The role the drugs may or may not have played is not yet known,” Harvey said.
He said investigators will almost certainly require additional toxicology tests to reach a final cause of death following an autopsy planned for Monday.
In August, Motes gave an interview detailing her estranged relationship with her famous sister, claiming Roberts, now 46, teased her about her weight.
“When I was in high school and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight,” Motes said at the time.
“It just makes me feel incredibly hurt and very sad,” added Motes, who once weighed nearly 300 pounds before her decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery in June 2010.
She said she hoped her transformation would help repair their fractured relationship, but she noted it was still “a work in progress.”
“It’s not going to be fixed overnight, nor do I think it’s going to be fixed at this point by me just getting skinny.”
At the time of the interview, Motes was living in a coastal apartment with her fiance John Dilbeck, a film and TV locations manager.
The couple had planned to wed in May.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...drug-overdose-article-1.1608653#ixzz2syaFqbQ5
