Actress Drena De Niro said “fentanyl-laced pills” caused the death of her son Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, who died Sunday at the age of 19.
Drena De Niro, daughter of two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro, responded to a question about her son’s death on Instagram.
“Someone sold him fentanyl spiked pills that they knew had fentanyl spiked in them and sold them to him anyway. With all these people still selling and buying this crap, my son is gone forever,” she said.
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It was in one post that she thanked people “for the love and support” and asked for privacy to mourn.
On Monday, a New York City Police Department spokesman confirmed to People magazine that a man was found in a downtown apartment on Sunday afternoon and was pronounced dead.
Drena De Niro announced the death of her son, with whom she appeared on A Star Is Born, in an emotional Instagram post.
“My beautiful sweet angel,” she wrote.
“I’ve loved you beyond words since I felt you in my stomach,” she said. “You were my joy, my heart and everything that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you now I wished I was with you.”
In a statement, Robert De Niro said he was “saddened by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo.”