Three months after 90 Day Fiancé star Elizabeth Potthast revealed on social media that her father, Chuck Potthast, had passed away, TMZ is reporting that the 64-year-old died from blunt force injuries after falling in a bathtub while intoxicated.
Documents obtained by the outlet from the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner in Florida specify that Chuck’s death was caused by “blunt impact injuries to the face and neck, including lacerations and a fractured C6 vertebrae.” The documents also note “positional asphyxia” as a contributing factor.
As you may remember, TMZ released audio in December of a 911 call made by Chuck’s son on the day of Chuck’s death in which it was revealed that the TLC star had been found in the bathtub and that he had been bleeding profusely. During the call, Chuck’s son told the 911 operator that he had “no clue” what had happened to his father, as he was not awake when he found him.
According to the medical examiner’s report, contributing causes of Chuck’s death also included chronic alcohol use, liver cirrhosis and acute alcohol intoxication. This indicates that Chuck had consumed a significant amount of alcohol prior to his fall, with the documents also reportedly noting Chuck’s history of heavy alcohol abuse.
As The Ashley previously reported, Chuck– who appeared on multiple “90 Day Fiancé” spin offs with his daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Andrei Castravet– died November 9; however, Elizabeth and other members of Chuck’s family didn’t publicly announce the news until later that month.
“Two weeks ago, tragedy struck our family and it has left us completely shattered,” Elizabeth posted to social media on November 23. “My sweet, loving, and caring dad went to heaven. We’re trying to figure out how to navigate our lives and move forward without him. Please respect our privacy during this extremely difficult time.”
While Chuck’s family did not disclose the cause of his death, Elizabeth and her sister denied several media outlets’ claims that Chuck passed away from brain cancer, and threatened to press charges against outlets that did not remove the false information from their stories.
As “90 Day Fiancé” fans may remember, Chuck had been suffering from a variety of health issues prior to his death, some of which he shared publicly. In 2022, he revealed on 90 Day Diaries that he had battled cancer in 2016, but was officially cancer-free by 2017.
In July, he revealed that he underwent surgery to remove what he feared was a tumor but was actually a large kidney stone. Following the procedure, Chuck took to Instagram to share the good news, telling fans, “I’m so excited that my cancer didn’t come back.”
In September, just two months before his death, Chuck shared that he underwent a lengthy surgery to fix hernias that had developed after some of his cancer-related procedures, though he claimed that the operation had gone well.
Elizabeth has not commented on her father’s cause of death as of press time.
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(Photos: Instagram)
