Fractures around Bob Saget’s eye sockets and bleeding around his brain were possibly caused by the comedian hitting “something hard, covered by something soft”, such as a carpeted floor, according to a report released on Tuesday that provided more details of the death of the TV star.
The 65-year-old star of Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos was found by a hotel security officer on his bed at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando on 9 January, after he failed to check out and his family asked for a wellbeing check.
The medical examiner concluded after an autopsy that Saget died from an accidental blow to the head, probably from a backwards fall.
Investigators found no evidence of struggle, foul play or signs anyone else had been in the hotel suite during Saget’s stay. A toxicology analysis did not show any illicit drugs or toxins.
There were no signs of blood on bedsheets or bedspread, according to the report released on Tuesday by the Orange county sheriff’s office in Orlando.
According to the report, a detective noted that the medical examiner, Joshua Stephany, said the fractures “would have stunned Mr Saget” and he would have experienced dizziness.
Had he been with people at the time, they would have noticed “confusion, balance, and/or slurred speech”, the report states. It does not pinpoint a location for Saget’s fall.
An initial examination of Saget’s body in the hotel suite showed he had slight swelling and small bruises in the corner of his left eye.
“There were no other indications of any type of trauma or injury,” the report states.
A hotel maintenance worker had to be called to open the door to Saget’s suite since it had been latched from inside. Even though the door between Saget’s suite and the adjacent room was found unlocked, records on the electronic locks at the hotel showed no one had been in the abutting room since 7 January, two days before Saget’s body was discovered, the report says.
Best known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom Full House and as the wisecracking host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, Saget was married to Kelly Rizzo Saget and had three daughters from a previous marriage.
Saget was on the road as part of his I Don’t Do Negative Comedy tour, and said just before his death that he enjoyed warm audience receptions in Orlando and the Ponte Vedra Beach resort area.
A judge in Florida on Monday agreed to make permanent an order that prohibits the release of photos, video or other records related to the investigation into Saget’s death. Saget’s family had filed a lawsuit seeking the order.
