Following the tragic incident where Mitt Romney’s sister-in-law fell from a parking lot in California, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office has released her body.
The remains of Carrie Romney, who was 64, were likely moved from county facilities recently to a funeral home for burial arrangements.
It’s uncertain who picked up her body or authorized its collection. It could have been her legal next of kin or a family member she had permitted to manage her remains prior to her passing.
Typically, her husband, George Scott Romney, would handle the remains as the next of kin, but the couple was undergoing a complicated divorce this year.
Carrie had been in divorce proceedings with her 81-year-old husband, a former Republican presidential candidate, for several months, and court documents indicate that the process might have been quite contentious.
Her body was discovered at the bottom of a parking lot in Valencia on Friday night, suggesting a fall.
Authorities have not yet clarified if the incident was a suicide or accidental. The official cause of death remains “adjourned,” indicating further investigation is needed.
An examination of her body took place on October 11, but the coroner informed that results could take more than three months.
Carrie had been living apart from George since May. He filed for divorce in early June, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
While the specifics of these differences aren’t clear, George requested the court to prevent him from awarding assets to Carrie, suggesting they had no shared property to divide and planned to handle spousal support payments through arbitration.
However, Carrie contested this. She sought alimony, requested George to cover her legal expenses, and attempted to prevent the court from granting support to him on her behalf.
The couple had been living together in a condo worth $725,000 in Valencia. Ownership of this property is still unclear. They had been together since at least 2012 and married in 2016.
Under normal circumstances, George would be responsible for collecting Carrie’s remains, but it’s uncertain if he would in such a challenging situation.
Carrie leaves behind at least two adult sons and a sister from a prior marriage. Attempts to reach anyone for comments were unsuccessful.
