Naya Rivera died within minutes, according to her death certificate. Nearly three weeks after the Glee star drowned in a horrible accident in Ventura County’s Lake Piru, the document was obtained by multiple media outlets, including The Blast and People magazine. The document confirms that the actress’s official cause of death is “drowning.” It also stated that she died within minutes (“mins”) and no other significant conditions contributed to her death.
It also revealed that Rivera, 33, was buried in a private service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in L.A. on Friday. That was 11 days after her body was found, on July 13 — five days after she disappeared on a boat trip with her 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey.
Rivera had rented a pontoon boat for a three-hour excursion with her only child. However, when she didn’t return at the appointed time, a boat rental company employee went out to look for the boat and found it with just Josey aboard. The child, who was napping in his life jacket, told authorities they had been swimming and while he got back on the boat, she disappeared under the water. An adult life jacket, believed to be the one provided to Rivera by the rental company, was found aboard the boat.
It took five long days for responders to find Rivera’s body, which was obscured by shrubbery in the murky water that had low visibility. Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said at a press conference that Rivera “must have mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself.”
May her soul rest in peace, amen!