Cameron Boyce’s family confirmed Tuesday night that the late 20-year-old actor had epilepsy, which was a factor in his death on Saturday night. In a statement to various media outlets, they said that his “tragic passing was due to a seizure as a result of an ongoing medical condition, and that condition was epilepsy.”
“We are still trying to navigate our way through this extremely heart-wrenching time, and continue to ask for privacy so that the family and all who knew and loved him can grieve his loss and make arrangements for his funeral — which in and of itself, is agonizing,” the family added.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The family had previously revealed that Boyce had an ongoing medical condition, although they did not specify what. TMZ reported Monday that he was suffering from epilepsy.
Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed that Boyce’s autopsy had been performed on Monday but that his official cause of death was being deferred pending “further investigation.”
“An autopsy was performed today and a cause of death was deferred pending further investigation,” the department announced on Monday in a press release.
Boyce was “found unresponsive in his home” on Saturday afternoon and pronounced dead on the scene after authorities were called, the coroner confirmed.
“The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him,” Boyce’s family said in a previous statement. “We are utterly heartbroken and ask for privacy during this immensely difficult time as we grieve the loss of our precious son and brother.”
Boyce was best known for his role as Cruella de Vil’s son in the Descendants TV movies, and as Luke Ross on Jessie, which ran for four seasons on the Disney Channel and starred Debby Ryan, who paid tribute to Boyce via social media on Sunday. She shared a video of him urging fans to use social media to “make the world a better place.”
“It’s crazy, we can tweet whenever we want and we can use social media and Instagram and make the world a better place,” Boyce says in the clip posted to Ryan’s Instagram Story, which was from his acceptance speech at the 2018 Thirst Gala for the Pioneering Spirit Award. “Instead of a worse one, which so many people use it for.”
“We need to use what we have and make the world a better place for other people, other people, people who need us,” Boyce concluded.
Boyce’s father tweeted Monday that he was “overwhelmed with the love and support our family has received,” and added that the outpouring of well-wishes and condolences has helped to “ease the pain of this nightmare I can’t wake up from.”
“I can’t thank you guys enough,” he wrote.
Photo credit: Paul Archuleta / Stringer / Getty
