14 DAY TRIAL // A police investigation has been started after the dead body of Jessica Barrymore, half-sister to Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore, was found lying in her car in National City early on Tuesday morning.
The details are still sketchy at this point, but local news agencies have confirmed that a 47-year-old woman believed to be the sister of famed Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore was found dead slumped in her car by the neighbors of a community in National City, California.
The person to discover her body was a woman who lived in the apartment complex situated at 900 Hoober Avenue. The woman says that she was trying to leave for work early in the morning but that Jessica's car was blocking the driveway.
It was at that moment that the lady later identified as Marta Lopez came over to see if the person in the car needed help. She claims that Jessica was slumped over the front seat, with an energy drink between her legs and a lot of small white pills scattered on the front passenger seat.
That's when Lopez noticed that the woman wasn't breathing, and she quickly called the police. The officers that were called on scene were unable to determine the cause of death and haven't yet made any official comments, leading to understand that they are going to wait for the autopsy reports first.
Another neighbor claims that the car Jessica was found in had been parked there all night and adds that he didn't find that suspicious. He told the press, “I thought she was sleeping or waiting for someone.”
That means that Jessica passed away at least several hours before she was found at 6 A.M. the following day. The white pills found all over her car would point to a suicide, but police aren't ruling out foul play at this point.
The coroner's office has confirmed that they have received the body of one Jessica Barrymore, who has a birth date listed as July 31, 1966. It hasn't been yet determined if she is indeed the half-sister of Drew Barrymore, but all initial evident points in that direction.
What's interesting is the fact that Jessica presumably committed suicide so close to her birthday. On July 31 she would have turned 48.
This is the second case of a famous actor's half-sister committing suicide this year. Earlier in spring, Julia Roberts' half-sister, Nancy Motes, was also found dead of an apparent suicide, after it was revealed that she had been struggling to overcome drug problems and issues with her weight.