Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Aldon Smith’s Family Hires Lawyers, Sends Brain to Boston for CTE Testing

An official autopsy is pending from the Santa Clara County medical examiner, raising questions about whether long-term head trauma played a role.

Overview

  • Smith, who died June 13, was found unresponsive in a vehicle after delivering pizzas to a homeless charity and the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner has confirmed his death.
  • The medical examiner has ordered or conducted an autopsy and has not yet released a cause or manner of death, with results still pending.
  • Smith’s family has retained attorneys Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers and Wayne Kendall to lead an independent investigation and to press for answers.
  • The family’s lawyers say they arranged for Smith’s brain to be sent to Boston for neuropathological testing for CTE and other trauma-related damage, a condition that can be diagnosed only after death.
  • Friends and local reports say a companion found Smith unresponsive after the charity delivery, and the family has named Bishop William Barber II as a spiritual advisor while asking for privacy as official and independent probes continue.