CONFUSION is swirling over the timeline that led to Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s sudden death at age 54.
Police were forced to clarify that the Cosby Show actor’s 8-year-old daughter wasn’t in the water with him when he drowned on Monday.
Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who died at age 54 on Monday[/caption]
Warner played Theo Huxtable on beloved 1980s sitcom The Cosby Show[/caption]
The Judicial Investigation Agency’s Judicial Morgue in Heredia, Costa Rica, where Warner’s body was after he drowned on a beach on July 22, 2025[/caption]
Warner died after getting caught in a riptide while swimming with his friend on vacation off the coast of Costa Rica.
A doctor pulled him out of the water and performed CPR, but he had already drowned.
Elberth León, the head of the Tourist Police for Costa Rica’s Atlantic region, initially claimed Warner was swimming with his daughter when tragedy struck, but that she was saved from the water.
However, Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency clarified that the girl was on the beach’s shore when her dad drowned.
“Mr. Warner was playing with his daughter at the seashore at one point,” an OIJ spokesperson said in a statement in Spanish to People.
“He then left her out of the water, and he and a friend of his entered the sea.”
That’s when Warner was dragged out to sea, officials said.
While his friend managed to get out of the water, Warner was left behind in the rough waters.
“However, Mr. Warner was unable to get out and was pulled out by several people on the beach,” the OIJ’s statement said.
“He received care from Red Cross officials but was pronounced dead at the scene.”
It’s unclear why police initially reported that his daughter was in the water with him.
The OIJ didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
HARROWING ACCOUNT
The doctor on the beach who pulled Warner out of the water broke his silence to Us Weekly about the harrowing scene.
He told the outlet on Thursday that he was “about 200 meters from the incident.”
Judicial Investigation Agency’s full statement
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency shared the following statement about Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death in Spanish and it is translated to English below:
Mr. Warner was playing with his daughter at the seashore at one point. He then left her out of the water, and he and a friend of his entered the sea.
It was at that moment that they were swept away by the current, and the friend managed to get out.
However, Mr. Warner was unable to get out and was pulled out by several people on the beach. He received care from Red Cross officials, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Source: People
The doctor, who chose to remain unnamed, said the beach was uncrowded because the ocean waves were rough that day.
When he heard a group of people screaming for help, he ran into the water with his surfboard and went toward the person who needed help.
“After a few minutes, I saw a shadow, dove down, and pulled the person out,” the man said.
Warner posing at the Paley Center for Media’s Hollywood Tribute to African American Achievements in Television in Beverly Hills, California, on October 26, 2015[/caption]
When first responders arrived at the scene, they used a defibrillator on Warner before declaring him dead.
A second man was transported to the hospital in critical condition, but has since been released.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s life
Warner began his stardom on “The Cosby Show” as character Theodore Huxtable, earning him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
He then went on to play Malcolm McGee in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, and starred in shows like Reed Between the Lines, Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story: Freak Show, and Suits.
Warner was also a voice actor in The Magic School Bus, an iconic children’s television show that aired in the 90s.
Alongside acting, Warner was a poet and a bass player, earning his first Grammy in 2015 for “Best Traditional R&B Performance as a Featured Performer.”
Most recently, he hosted the podcast Not All Hood, which “takes a provocative look at the vastly different lived experiences and identities of Blacks in America,” according to its website.
STAR’S LEGACY
Warner was best known for playing Theo Huxtable on the 1980s sitcom classic, The Cosby Show.
Just a few weeks before his death, Warner discussed his legacy in a now-haunting TV interview.
Tributes to the actor, who also appeared in Community and 9-1-1, poured in after the tragic news was announced
In a statement reacting to the news, Bill Cosby said Warner’s death reminded him of his own son’s murder.
Warner’s ex-girlfriend, Regina King, shared a heartbreaking throwback picture and told the late actor to “ride in power.”
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable and Bill Cosby as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show in 1987[/caption]
