Julia Roberts’ Half Sister Dead At Age 37 From Apparent Drug Overdose
Julia Roberts and her family are mourning the loss of one of their beloved family members today.
Roberts’ half sister Nancy Motes was found dead Sunday morning, and it is being speculated that she died of an apparent drug overdose. She was only 37-years-old.
The family issued a statement confirming Motes’ death earlier today.
“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 reads. “There is no official report from the Coroner’s office yet. The family is both shocked and devastated.”
While the cause of death hasn’t officially been determined, Lieutenant Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner revealed to US magazine that they are currently treating her death as a suicide.
“Nancy Motes was found dead at a residence in the bathroom yesterday, pronounced dead by the LA Fire Department at 2:12 PM yesterday. Not sure whose residence it was. She was found in a bathtub that had water in it. We’re taking it as a suicide, not a drowning.”
“She’s being examined today. We are waiting for the doctor to provide his findings,” the statement to Us continued. “There were prescription and non-prescription drugs found at the scene. Cannot tell you what those drugs were. The role the drugs may or may not have played is not yet known. The investigator at the scene listed at this point that he is going with suicide and we are waiting for the doctor to finish the examination. We haven’t gotten anything yet.”
It has always been a well-known fact that Roberts and Motes were estranged. Last August, Motes sat down for an interview with the New York Daily News to talk about their rocky relationship, describing it as a “work in progress.”
I think we’re both trying to change our opinions of each other,” Motes said. “It’s 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.”
Motes held a lot of resentment for her older sister over the wayshe treated her for being overweight. Motes weighed nearly 300 pounds, at one time, and says Roberts would not let her forget it. The intense criticism lead to Motes undergoing gastric bypass surgery, in 2010.
“When I was in high school and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight,” Motes explained. “She would make it quite clear to me and in a not-so-nice a manner. It just makes me feel incredibly hurt and very sad.”
[Image via Bing.com]
