Presley Gerber, the 27-year-old son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, died Sunday, Sept. 20, one day after checking into the Resolutions Living rehabilitation facility on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, California, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records.
Santa Monica Police say officers responded to a report of a possible overdose at approximately 9:35 a.m. that Sunday and found an adult male who was already deceased. The department is investigating the death as a suspected overdose. Police say there is no indication of foul play, and the case remains open. The facility has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Gerber reportedly checked into Resolutions Living Saturday night and died Sunday morning. The center describes itself as a co-ed home that “provides the structure” for residents recovering from mental health issues, addiction and co-occurring disorders through intensive outpatient programs of their choosing. It was not immediately clear why Gerber entered the facility or what treatment he was receiving. Representatives for Resolutions Living did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said in a statement that “the investigation is still ongoing and there is limited information available,” and that the department is in “the early stages of investigating the death.” A deputy medical examiner conducted an examination, but the cause and manner of death have been deferred pending further testing. The department said it cannot disclose what studies were requested while the investigation is ongoing, and noted that deferred cases can take several months to resolve.
Attorney urges caution before assigning blame
Wrongful death and personal injury attorney John J. Perlstein cautioned against assuming the facility or the family bore any responsibility before investigators reach conclusions.
“I just don’t assume what the cause of death is or that the facility failed them or the family … don’t think the family wasn’t doing everything they had to do,” Perlstein said. “It seems like, you know, in these situations the families do so much for the sick person, the person who was addicted.”
Perlstein added that “by all accounts, they were a very loving, good family and it’s just real sad circumstance. It certainly caught a lot of people’s attention, I’ll tell you that much.”
Clinician: sudden deaths in treatment are not always what they seem
Nicholas Kardaris, Ph.D., CEO and chief clinical officer of the New York Center for Living in Manhattan and a clinical professor at Stony Brook Medicine’s School of Social Welfare, has not treated Gerber and is not connected to the case, but he warned against drawing conclusions simply because the death occurred inside a rehabilitation facility.
Kardaris said possible explanations could include an acute medical or cardiac event, an undiagnosed condition, or a medication-related complication, noting that people in residential treatment may have complex medical histories that aren’t immediately apparent when they enter a program.
“Younger people can sometimes die suddenly, and we don’t know whether they had an underlying medical issue,” Kardaris said. “It’s not impossible to have a medication-related event, particularly if someone has an underlying heart disorder. Certain medications can trigger a cardiac episode.”
He also pointed to withdrawal itself as a potential risk, which he said can range from uncomfortable to life-threatening depending on the substance and a person’s level of physical dependence. “People can die from withdrawal, but the substances that are most dangerous to withdraw [from] without proper medical supervision are benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Xanax, and alcohol,” he said. Kardaris also noted that entering treatment doesn’t mean someone’s underlying addiction is resolved.
A representative for the Gerber family told reporters, “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.”
Add comment