According to Robert De Niro’s oldest daughter, her 19-year-old son, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, who was discovered dead on Sunday, “didn’t deserve to die like this.”
Leandro De Niro was the son of Robert De Niro’s eldest daughter, Drena De Niro, and artist Carlos Rodriguez.
Drena uploaded a black-and-white photo of her son on Instagram on Tuesday, only days after the kid was discovered dead at an iconic lower Manhattan skyscraper.
She opened the post by thanking her fans for “all the love, the messages, calls, texts, emails, friends, and family that held me up these last 24 hours.”
“None of this is right or fair, and my heart hurts in ways I didn’t realize were possible while still breathing and barely functioning.” “Leo, my darling, I love you today as much as I did the first time I held you in my arms,” Drena wrote.
Drena went on to say that “the same man who picked us up from the hospital when you were born drove us to the funeral home, where I touched and held you for the last time.”
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“You didn’t deserve to die like this,” she said, “but I can only believe that God needed a strong, powerful angel in their army.” I’m carrying you in my heart and memory every second of every day till I can be with you again.”
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not yet determined the cause of death for Leandro.
According to a New York Police Department spokeswoman, police responded to a 911 call at 55 Wall Street shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and discovered a gentleman unconscious and unresponsive.
The 19-year-old boy’s identity was eventually determined to be Leandro, and EMS declared him dead at the scene, according to the NYPD.
Cipriani Wall Street, the building where he was discovered, has opulent apartments, hotel rooms, and an elite, old-money-inspired social club.
According to The Real Deal, Raphael De Niro, Leandro’s uncle and De Niro’s eldest son, is a real-estate dealer who formerly sold flats at Cipriani Wall Street.
The “Raging Bull” actor, who adopted Drena during his first marriage to Diahnne Abbott in 1976, said in a statement to People on Monday that he was “deeply distressed” by his grandson’s death and begged for quiet to “grieve our loss of Leo.”
Leandro followed in his grandfather’s footsteps as an actor until his death. He acted in the films “Cabaret Maxime,” “The Collection,” and “A Star Is Born,” in which he co-starred with his mother.