A forensic analyst says it could take months to determine Presley Gerber’s official cause of death.
The son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber was found dead on Sunday morning at a rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica. He was 27.
Although an autopsy was completed on September 21, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that the official cause of death has been “deferred.”
“A deputy medical examiner performed an examination today and the cause and manner of death have been deferred, which means additional testing and/or studies were requested in order to make a determination,” the statement said. “Due to the ongoing death investigation, the DME cannot disclose what testing and/or studies were requested. Deferred cases can take a few months before a cause of death is determined.”
Expert Says Cases Like Presley Gerber’s Can Become ‘Very Complex’
Forensic analyst Joseph Scott Morgan, who has handled suspected overdose cases at similar rehabilitation centers, noted that Gerber’s case could become “very, very complex, very quickly.”
“I think my big question, being that this is a rehab center, is: Was he checked?” Morgan told NewsNation’s Laura Ingle. “Were any of his visitors checked? Did anybody bring anything in at all?”
Morgan pointed out that an autopsy can help provide answers to some of those questions. He explained that the medical examiner will conduct a broad-spectrum toxicology screening capable of detecting anything that was in the gastric content, which could take some time.
Getty“In the medical legal world, we have a standard panel that we run in any case, and this looks at everything from any kind of synthetic drugs to aspirin you can find on board,” Morgan elaborated.
The expert continued, “Just to get a qualifier will take a short period of time. You can say that it is there, but then they have to quantify those amounts, and that’s the big question here. You know exactly how much was in his system, and then did it reach lethal levels. That’s going to be key here.”
Presley Gerber’s Remains Released by Medical Examiner
Morgan also explained why police responded to the rehabilitation center following the 911 call, noting that their arrival so soon after the call was not unusual.
“This is a young man who should not be deceased. They’re going to respond to this,” he said. “Our working assumption in any death investigation is that every death is suspicious. You have to work from that perspective in order to arrive at a thorough finding at the end.”
Meanwhile, PEOPLE reported that Gerber’s body has been released after authorities completed his autopsy.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that his remains were transferred to a mortuary designated by the “legal next of kin” on September 22.
Santa Monica Police Detectives “are investigating the death as a suspected overdose.” A statement issued by authorities confirmed that there is no indication of foul play at this time.
