NYC Woman Arrested in Death Probe of Robert De Niro's Grandson: Report
A woman has been arrested in New York in connection with the suspected drug overdose death of Hollywood actor Robert De Niro’s grandson.
Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, 19, was found dead on July 2 in his Manhattan apartment in an upscale apartment on Wall Street.
At the time, police said the teen’s body was found in a chair near a plate with a white “powdery” substance on it.
On Thursday night, the NYPD announced it had arrested a woman named Sofia Haley Marks in connection with the death, ABC News reported.
Law enforcement sources told the network the 20-year-old woman is known on the street as the “Percocet Princess.”
Police believe Marks sold De Niro-Rodriguez drugs that killed him.
The woman is in federal custody awaiting charges of drug distribution and was expected to see a judge on Friday.
She was arrested after a joint investigation by the NYPD, the DEA and the Department of Homeland Security.
No cause of death for the 19-year-old has been released but law enforcement officials suspect the young man died of an overdose.
More than 100,000 Americans died last year of fentanyl overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many of those deaths were from people who had unwittingly purchased another drug they did not know was laced with the drug.
Robert De Niro released a brief statement on his grandson’s death after it was announced.
“I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” the actor said.
He added, “We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”
Leandro’s mother Drena De Niro was adopted by Robert De Niro in 1976 after he married her mother Diahnne Abbott.
Drena first broke the news of Landry’s death on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram
De Niro and Abbott divorced in 1988 but the actor remained close with his adopted daughter and her family.
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