The Kennedy family says they are shattered while confirming the news that their beloved daughter has passed away.
According to People, Saoirse Kennedy Hill passed away on August 1 at her family’s Massachusetts compound. She was the only daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill and Paul Hill.
Paramedics were called to the Hyannis Port home, which is owned by her 91-year-old grandmother, Ethel Kennedy, just hours before the family issued a statement regarding the 22-year-old’s death. Ethel is the widow of the late politician, Robert F. Kennedy.
Assistant District Attorney Tara Miltimore of the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office says Saoirse’s death is still under investigation. However, authorities suspect the heiress died as the result of an overdose.
The Kennedy family is once again grappling with unimaginable loss after 22-year-old Saoirse Kennedy Hill, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died Thursday at the family compound in Massachusetts. https://t.co/B9VqXcaKov pic.twitter.com/bQgTKRlH1u
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) August 2, 2019
As The Hyannis News reports, authorities arrived at the home around 2:32 p.m. on August 1. One of the first police officer to arrive at the scene was a former EMT, who could be heard over their radio calling for backup after finding the victim in cardiac arrest.
Saoirse was pronounced dead after being rushed to Cape Cod Hospital.
The family said in their statement given to People:
“Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise, and love. She cared deeply about friends and family, especially her mother Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel.”
Ethel also released her own statement, saying:
“The world is a little less beautiful today. She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit. Saoirse was passionately moved by the causes of human rights and women’s empowerment and found great joy in volunteer work, working alongside indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. We will love her and miss her forever.”
It remains unclear who else was in the home at the time of the reported overdose.
As People reports, Saoirse revealed she struggled with depression and mental illness at an early age:
“My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life. Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest.”
It’s also unclear if the 22-year-old had a history of battling substance abuse.