Gabby DeSouza's family refuse to believe suicide was cause of death

Home Top

Pictured: The 26-year-old college gunman who was 'filled with hate', lived with his mother and asked victims their religion before he shot them in rampage that killed at least ten and wounded seven
I saw my teacher shot in the head: Traumatized survivors share their horrific stories from inside the Oregon college where gunman killed 10
'Our thoughts and prayers are not enough': Obama calls for tougher gun laws in his FIFTEENTH speech as a President mourning a mass shooting
Oregon college gunman was armed with an assault rifle and THREE pistols that he could have bought legally
'Don't go to school tomorrow if you are in the northwest... so long space robots': Did Oregon gunman leave a disturbing warning on website message board 4Chan the night before his murderous rampage?
Hillary Clinton tells top aide Sidney Blumenthal it's a 'good idea' for diplomats to STOP telling the truth in newly revealed email exchange
Airport evacuated over wedding favors marked with couple's initials 'TNT'
Twelve dead in U.S. military transport plane crash in Afghanistan
'Here's the first bite of my churro; here's the second!' The hilarious moment baseball announcers turn their commentary to sorority sisters taking selfies at the game
Your early 20s really ARE your happiest years: Misery plagues middle-age as money and job worries take over (but the good news is life gets better at 65)
OJ Simpson 'contemplated killing himself in Kim Kardashian's childhood bedroom' after he was accused of killing his ex-wife just hours before his car chase with police
ET will 'conquer and colonise' humanity, warns Stephen Hawking: Physicist claims nomadic aliens could destroy the world
'Aliens would NOT encrypt their messages': Author of The Martian dismisses claims that ET is sending secret codes to Earth
The REAL Jesse James and his killer Robert Ford: Photograph owned by family who kept outlaw safe in 1870s verified by experts
Email from Hillary Clinton collection shows she berated top aides for switching 'mother' and 'father' with gay-friendly 'parent 1' and 'parent 2' on passport applications
Donald Trump says he'll bail from the race if his poll numbers drop to Scott Walker territory: 'I'm not a masochist'
Al Gore won't just say 'no' to a presidential run - telling reporters he's a 'recovering politician' and likely won't 'relapse'
Poll shows Hillary losing ground as her lead shrinks over Bernie Sanders and the elusive Joe Biden - and Americans still think 'liar' when they hear her name
Trump leads in USA Today poll but word-association game yields mess for The Donald as voters describe him as 'idiot,' 'jerk,' 'stupid,' 'dumb,' 'arrogant,' 'crazy,' 'nuts,' 'buffoon,' 'clown,' 'comical' and 'joke'
EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton's brother Tony Rodham is fingered as Ashley Madison user following hacker attack - but his doting wife insists 'I know he has not cheated on me'
'El Donald' has Hispanic problem as two-thirds of US Latinos say they view him negatively
Trump says Syrian refugees could be part of an ISIS army and the US is 'nuts' to allow them in the country
'That was back before they'd shoot you': Ben Carson reveals he threw rocks at cars and was chased by cops as he discloses wayward youth
Biden won't make campaign decision in time for first Democratic debate, as VP continues to mourn loss of his son Beau to brain cancer

Gabby DeSouza, 20, was found dead in her bed in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in June and investigators deemed it a suicide this month
DeSouza had been out with friends late the night before. Her mother went to work and came back to find DeSouza dead
Palm Beach County medical examiners on September 9 reported DeSouza had died of a deadly mix of aspirin and alcohol
In 2011, DeSouza lost her right leg after a boat driver revved the engine while she climbed inside and it was injured beyond saving

Published: 21:22 EST, 28 September 2015 | Updated: 01:30 EST, 29 September 2015

View
comments

The family of a Florida student who made headlines after losing a leg in 2011 are now refuting a coroner's finding that her death this summer was a suicide.

Gabby DeSouza, who lost her right leg in a boating accident while still in high school, had since gone on to college after bravely fighting past her disability to live the life of an everyday teen.

However, that life came to an abrupt end this June when Gabby was discovered dead in their Palm Beach Gardens home at just 20 years old.

Scroll down for video

Life cut short: Gabby DeSouza, who lost her right leg in a boating accident while still in high school, had since gone on to college after bravely fighting past her disability to live the life of an everyday teen

Still remembered: Friends and family mourn the loss of DeSouza at her funeral in June. Family members said 'not one time' did they think DeSouza committed suicide

'She was giddy, she was laughing, she was Snapchatting,' Gabby's uncle, John Whalen, told the Palm Beach Post on behalf of the family. 'She was acting like a drunk person. Not one time did suicide cross any of our minds.'

The family, including Gabby's mother Shannon, were stunned by her death but suicide, they now say, was the furthest thing from their minds.

However, that was the cause of death cited by Palm Beach County medical examiners on September 9.

More specifically, it was ruled that Gabby died from a toxic overdose of aspirin and booze.

'We 100 percent don't agree with the medical examiner's findings,' Whalen said. 'It was absolutely not a suicide.'

But despite the family's insistence that Gabby seemed perfectly fine before she told her mother she was going to her room to take a nap June 26, there were reportedly signs that all was not well with Gabby.

A friend also reportedly told investigators that a friend said Gabby had been in a fight with her mom after coming home drunk at 4 a.m. the night before her death.

Sad: Gabby's vibrant life came to an abrupt end this June when Gabby was discovered dead in their Palm Beach Gardens home at just 20-years-old

Gabby had reportedly developed a problem with alcohol in recent months and had been placed in treatment twice over the course of just two months

'She was giddy, she was laughing': Gabby's family said she seemed completely normal before she went to take a nap that should would never wake up from

The family, including Gabby's mother Shannon, were stunned by her death but suicide, they now say, was the furthest thing from their minds

According to the Palm Beach Post, even Whalen admits that Gabby's drinking had gotten out of hand in recent months.

She'd also been involuntarily admitted for treatment back in December. Less than a month later, in January, Gabby was again admitted for treatment of alcohol abuse, though this time it was voluntary.

Medical examiners also found traces of cocaine while determining her cause of death.

Whalen also conceded that Gabby had spoken of suicide while drinking.

There were times when she said, ''I wish I would have died in the accident,'' but it was teenage drama,' Whalen said. 'It was not something you would take seriously.'

Now, Gabby's family intends to continue to follow up on the investigation, though for medical examiners it appears closed.

'We're going to be following up with the medical examiner's office to get to the bottom of how they determined that,' Whalen said.