Presley Gerber, son of Cindy Crawford, died at a luxury rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica last weekend, leading police to investigate an apparent overdose and attempt to trace the supplier of the drugs involved. Law enforcement sources indicate the investigation is in its early stages.
Gerber, 27, died Sunday at the Resolution Living facility. Police reported receiving calls for both a cardiac arrest and an overdose at the center. Officers arrived at the $7.7-million, seven-bedroom mansion, according to a law enforcement source, at approximately 9:35 a.m. Sunday. Police said Gerber had entered the facility just hours before his death.
Resolution Living describes itself on its website as a “Mental Health Recovery Residence.” Its program includes partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient treatment for various mental health issues, including depression, trauma, and addiction, and also offers dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring disorders. Calls seeking comment from Resolutions Living were not returned.
The Santa Monica Police Department has stated there is no indication of foul play currently, but they are investigating Gerber’s apparent overdose. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office conducted an autopsy on Monday. However, the cause and manner of death have been deferred, pending toxicology results that will identify substances in Gerber’s system. These results are expected to take several weeks, if not months.
The investigation into Gerber’s death follows a pattern where police are increasingly attempting to trace the suppliers of drugs in overdose cases. This approach has been seen in other recent high-profile deaths in the Los Angeles area.
Earlier this year, officials confirmed that actress Hayden Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl and other drugs, including a generic version of Xanax. Federal authorities investigating her death have focused on Los Angeles, exploring whether she obtained nonprescription pills from a local dealer and questioning several individuals about what were described as counterfeit pills before her death. Similarly, the death of actor Matthew Perry sparked a “sprawling drug investigation,” leading to five people being charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine to Perry, who died from the drug’s acute effects.
Given these circumstances, the Santa Monica police probe into Gerber’s death, though currently little is known, will likely examine several factors. L.A. attorney Brian Claypool, who specializes in wrongful death litigation, stated that the autopsy and toxicology results "will be crucial in this tragic death to ascertain legal liability." Attorney Glen Jonas added that depending on police findings, the rehab center itself could face scrutiny, and that police would likely scrutinize staffing and how the emergency was handled, among other issues.
There have been previous instances where drugs have made their way into treatment centers. The family of a Riverside woman, for example, sued a sober living center after she was found dead of a drug overdose. In 2022, Edwin Oliva of Montebello was sentenced to over 33 years in federal prison for providing a lethal dose of fentanyl. In that case, during the early hours of February 28, 2019, Oliva provided a woman with what she believed was cocaine, not disclosing it was fentanyl, which she then ingested, leading to a fatal overdose.
As the investigation into Presley Gerber’s death continues, the community awaits the toxicology results that will offer more clarity on the circumstances.
