COMPOUND SORROWS
Kennedys awaiting toxicology report in RFK grandkid death
As the Kennedy family dealt with yet another shocking death, authorities said Friday they are awaiting the results of a toxicology report to determine the cause of death of one of Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughters.
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, 22, a Boston College student, was found dead Thursday in the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. The cause of death is under investigation, but police were called to the home for a report of a possible drug overdose.
The Cape & Islands district attorney's office said Friday that Hill's autopsy showed no signs of trauma.
She was the daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's fifth child, Courtney, and Paul Michael Hill.
“The world is a little less beautiful today,” Ethel Kennedy said in a statement released by the family.
Several friends and family members shared messages and photos on social media Friday to mourn Hill's death.
Her aunt, Kerry Kennedy, tweeted, “We love you Saoirse,” and posted several pictures of her on Instagram.
Patrick J. Kennedy, Hill's uncle and a former U.S. representative, tweeted about her Friday morning. He has long worked to combat mental illness and drug addiction.
Hill had written about her struggles with mental health and a suicide attempt while at Deerfield Academy, an elite private school in Massachusetts.
She also helped found a group at the school called Deerfield Students Against Sexual Assault.
At Boston College, she was “a gifted student” who “was also active in the College Democrats, and had many friends on the BC campus,” spokesman Jack Dunn said.
Hill's cousin and former California First Lady Maria Shriver wrote on Twitter that the loss of the “brave young woman” left a “gaping hole” in the family.
Kevin Frazier, host of Entertainment Tonight on CBS, wrote on Instagram about a day he spent with Hill and her family at a golf event honoring her grandfather.
“Saoirse was just a little girl last time I saw her but I will always remember how kind she was to me that day,” he wrote.
There was even a mourning tweet on Friday from the other side of the political spectrum — by conservative former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.
“Praying for the Kennedy family after the death of 22 year old Saoirse. Hope you will too,” he tweeted.