The 19-year-old son of former YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki was found dead at the University of California, Berkeley. His family suspects a drug overdose was the cause.
Marco Troper, a freshman at UC Berkeley, was found unresponsive Tuesday afternoon at the Clark Kerr Student Complex, authorities said.
The math student's grandmother, Esther Wojcicki, suspected he may have succumbed to a drug overdose after she confirmed his death and identity.
Esther told SFGATE: “He took a medication and we don't know what was in it,” she said. “One thing we know: it was a drug.”
UC Berkeley spokeswoman Janet Gilmore said there were no signs of foul play but did not say whether Troper died of a drug overdose.
The 19-year-old son of former YouTube boss Susan Wojcickic (left), Marco Troper (center), was found dead at the University of California, Berkeley on Tuesday
Troper's mother, Susan, stepped down from her leadership position last year and moved into a consulting role at Google and Alphabet
Troper, a freshman at UC Berkeley (pictured), was found unresponsive at the Clark Kerr Student Complex on Tuesday afternoon
“The Berkeley Fire Department has notified UCPD that they are attempting life-saving measures on the victim. “UCPD responded and the Berkeley Fire Department pronounced the individual dead,” Gilmore wrote in a statement.
In a heartbreaking social media post, Esther confirmed the identity of the college student, who has just started his second semester of his freshman year.
“Yesterday my family was struck by tragedy. My beloved grandson Marco Troper, 19 years old, died yesterday. “Our family is devastated beyond belief,” wrote the grieving grandmother.
“Marco's life was cut too short. And we are all devastated to think of all the opportunities and life experiences he will miss and that we will miss together,” Esther continued.
Troper was a mathematics major and had a strong community of friends from his dorm at Stern Hall and his fraternity Zeta Psi, according to his grandmother.
“At home he told us endless stories about his life and his friends in Berkeley,” she wrote. '
Troper was a mathematics major and had a strong community of friends from his dorm at Stern Hall and his fraternity Zeta Psi, according to his grandmother
The family is waiting for a toxicology report to determine the cause of death, but his grandmother Esther Wojcicki said it appeared to be an accidental drug overdose
The grandmother also described Troper as an “all-around athlete” who loved all kinds of sports, including boxing, swimming and tennis.
“He was everything you could want in a son and grandson. “He was destined to make a difference, it's heartbreaking.”
The family is waiting for a toxicology report to determine the cause of death, but Esther said it appears to have been an accidental drug overdose.
“Kids in college, especially freshmen and sophomores, experiment with everything.” “I think this was an experiment gone wrong,” she told the Palo Alto Daily Post.
Before attending UC Berkeley, Troper graduated from Menlo School in Atherton, where he took a leading role in the school's hackathon and taught numerous students.
Principal Than Healy described him in an email as an “enthusiastic mathematician and computer scientist.”
“He was incredibly intelligent, curious and creative – often showing up to class and community events with a bright smile and infectious energy,” Healy wrote.
Troper also leaves behind four siblings and his father, Dennis Troper.
Susan, former CEO of YouTube and one of Google's oldest employees, stepped down from her leadership role last year to focus on family
Susan (pictured with husband Dennis Troper) was Google's first female marketing manager in 1999 and took over as CEO of YouTube in 2014
His mother, a former YouTube CEO and one of Google's most senior employees, stepped down from her leadership position last year to focus on family.
Susan wrote in a blog post in February last year: “I have decided to step down from my role as head of YouTube and begin a new chapter focused on my family, my health and personal projects that are close to my heart.”
She was Google's first female marketing manager in 1999 and took over as CEO of YouTube in 2014. After her resignation, she moved to an advisory role at Google and Alphabet.
Susan has had no comments on Troper's death.
Esther hopes Troper's tragedy can help educate people and prevent similar incidents for other families.
“I think the most important thing is that teenagers and students need to know that today's drugs are not the same as yesterday's drugs, they are often laced with fentanyl,” she said.
“So while they think they know what they are doing, when they look at the national statistics, they can see that more people are dying from drug overdoses than from the pandemic.”