Death of Obama’s chef ruled accidental drowning in Martha’s Vineyard
The death of Tafari Campbell, former US president Barack Obama’s personal chef, has been ruled an accidental drowning in Martha’s Vineyard, in a report by Massachusetts state medical examiner’s office, officials said on Tuesday.
Campbell, 45, was pulled from a tidal inlet near the historic port town of Edgartown on 24 July after he went missing while paddleboarding the previous evening.
Police had previously said that Campbell’s death was not considered suspicious and he had no external trauma or injuries when he was recovered from the pond.
“This mirrors what our investigation determined, and thus comes as no surprise to us,” state police spokesperson David Procopio told the Vineyard Gazette.
Campbell was found about 100ft from shore and in about 8ft of water in an area of water close to where the Obamas have a summer house on the island’s Turkeyland Cove.
He had been reported missing after another paddleboarder said they had seen him go under the water.
“Tafari was a beloved part of our family,” the Obamas said in a statement after police recovered and identified his body.
Campbell had served as a sous chef at the White House during the Obama administration and followed the family when they returned to private life at the end of Obama’s second term.
Massachusetts state police have said that their investigation is not officially closed.
“There are procedural and administrative actions that need to be taken to officially close it out on our end, but the medical examiner’s determination underscores the facts and circumstances that our investigation found,” Procopio told the outlet.