Robert De Niro’s teenage grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, whose death was confirmed Monday by the family, had been found by a concerned friend who went to visit him at his New York City apartment.
The friend had stopped by the apartment to check on the 19-year-old actor after not hearing from him for a few days, TMZ reported.
When they arrived, they found Rodriguez sitting in a chair dead, the outlet said.
It was unclear how he died and there were no obvious signs of trauma, according to the report.
His mother Drena De Niro, 51, confirmed the tragedy in a statement posted to Instagram Monday.
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“My beautiful sweet angel. I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly,” she wrote.
“You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama,” the statement continued.
“You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you I’m so sorry my baby, I’m so sorry @carlosmare. Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy,” Drena added, referring to Leandro’s artist dad, Carlos Mare.
Drena was born to Diahnne Abbott and was adopted by Robert De Niro when the pair married in 1976.
Leandro had appeared in films like “A Star is Born,” “Cabaret Maxime” and “The Collection,” according to IMDB.
