Though investigators had already pieced together Bob Saget’s final hours, millions of fans still have understandable questions.
Those questions may never be answered, thanks to an injunction granted to Saget’s widow and daughters.
It is not unreasonable for them to want to preserve their loved one’s dignity and final moments. He was their husband, their father.
And those clamoring for answers, trying to make sense of what happened, can at least be assured that there was no foul play.
On Tuesday, March 15, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office issued its final report on the tragic passing of Bob Saget.
The office confirmed that they will comply with the court-ordered, permanent injunction.
The judge’s instructions require that no further documents or details can be released to the public — now, or ever.
But that did not mean that the OCSO did not have anything further to say.
“Yesterday, a court order was entered,” an Orange County Sheriff’s Office email began.
This was an injunction “prohibiting the release of certain materials gathered during the course of OCSO’s investigation into the death of Bob Saget.”
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Office will comply with the order,” the OCSO affirmed.
The email added that they will do so “while remaining committed to transparency.”
“And,” the OCSO continued, while “following the law regarding access to public records.”
The OCSO’s final incident report did specify some matters regarding the death of the late, great comedian.
When hotel staff at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando conducted a wellness check on January 9, it was at the behest of Saget’s family.
They had attempted to contact him, been unable to reach him, and understandably grown concerned.
We know that hotel security entered his room and found that he was “unresponsive and cold to the touch.”
They then dutifully contacted local authorities, who entered the room to confirm that Saget had passed and to begin their investigation.
The OCSO’s final report confirms that there was “no evidence of a struggle, any type of foul play, or that anyone else was in teh room at any time during his stay.”
That last part is significant, as some speculation over his death and the injunction against release of further documents had taken a salacious turn.
Even people who were perfectly willing to believe that Saget’s death was an accident, as evidence suggests, wondered if he was meeting someone.
The last thing that Saget’s legacy or his family needs is baseless speculation about some imagined “affair,” so we are glad that this idea has been quashed.
“Mr. Saget was lying on his back on the right side of the bed,” the final report specified.
He was “partially covered by the sheet and bedspread, with his left arm lying loosely across his torso and his right arm by his side.”
The report detailed: “The sheets, bedspread, and pillowcases on the bed were white and there were no signs of blood or bodily fluids on them or anywhere else in the suite.”
In fact, beyond the fact that he was unresponsive and cold to the touch, the only immediately obvious problem was slight swelling and a bruise over his left eye.
The report says, adding Saget appeared to have slight swelling and a bruise over his left eye.
Saget had returned to the room shortly after 2AM, electronic records and security cameras confirmed, and did not open again until around 4PM, when hotel security conducted their check.
Four legally prescribed medications were in his possession, located in his luggage.
The autopsy found a fracture at the base of his skull and bleeding around the brain.
The medical examiner speculated that the lack of external injurty meant that the impact came from “something hard, covered by something soft.”
One example? A hard floor, like the hard marble floor of the hotel room’s bathroom, covered with a carpet or rug.
Saget might have been dizzy, confused, or experienced slurred speech immediately after the forceful impact against a hard surface.
Given how severe the injury was, he would not have been able to drive two hours (as he did to return to the hotel). He was alone in his room when it happened.