A coroner’s report has ruled that Julia Roberts’ half-sister, Nancy Bates, died of a suicide and not an accidental overdose on Feb. 12.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Coroner released an official statement that says Bates took “multiple drugs” and got into a bathtub, causing her to drown.
Motes’ fiancé, John Dilbeck, told the Daily News after the official coroner’s report, “This is proof that Julia was manipulating the truth in terms of what happened. She persisted that this was just a drug overdose and that Nancy was a drug addict.”
He added, “I want everyone to know Nancy was not a drug addict. This verdict from the coroner is more proof of that. I’m still suffering and in mourning, and this is one of the worst nightmares anyone can imagine.”
Last month, Roberts commented for the first time about the death of Motes, calling it “heartbreak.”
“It's so hard to formulate a sentence about it outside the weepy huddle of my family,” she told WSJ magazine.
Before her death, Motes spoke publicly about the tumultuous relationship she had with her famous sister, accusing her of bullying her about her weight during childhood.