THE Cosby Show actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner died from asphyxiation by submersion, an autopsy has determined.
Warner, 54, was swept away into the ocean by a strong rip current after going for a swim in waters off the coast of Cocles, a beach in Limon, Costa Rica.
Warner, one of the stars of the 1980s sitcom classic, was in Costa Rica, about three hours southeast of the capital of San Jose, enjoying a family holiday when the unimaginable tragedy occurred.
The Costa Rican Caribbean lifeguards said fellow beachgoers pulled the actor’s body from the waters back onto shore, but Warner had no vital signs.
“He was pulled underwater with no vital signs, and despite CPR on the beach, he was unsuccessful,” Costa Rican officials said in a statement on Facebook.
An autopsy confirmed Warner died from asphyxiation by submersion, the Costa Rican police forensic pathology department said.
Warner’s death was ruled accidental.
Warner was best remembered for his work on The Cosby Show as Theodore Huxtable, the affable son of Bill Cosby’s Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable.
Cosby, the disgraced actor who was jailed in 2018 then freed after his sexual assault conviction was overturned, said the news of Warner’s passing reminded him of his own son’s murder.
“When Bill got the call that Warner died on vacation in Costa Rica, it reminded him of being in the studio filming ‘The Cosby Show’ in January 1997, when he got a call informing him that his son Ennis Cosby was shot dead in a failed robbery attempt,” Cosby’s representative, Andrew Wyatt, told TMZ.
Ennis was the only son of the comedian, 88, and was murdered by 18-year-old Mikhail Markhasev, who was tried and convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery.
Cosby’s representative went on to say how Warner and Ennis used to play when they were younger and the pair were “amazing together.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.
Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
