Tag: Celebrity deaths

New Zealand rugby player Kathleen “Kath” Wharton’s cause of death has reportedly been revealed nine months after the mom of four was found unresponsive in a McDonald’s parking lot.

Wharton died at 41 years old from sudden cardiac arrest while she was taking a nap in an Auckland, New Zealand, McDonald’s parking lot “after a long-haul flight from a rugby tournament in Japan” on November 21, 2024, the New Zealand Herald reported on Saturday, August 23, citing associate coroner Hannah Cheeseman’s findings.

The associate coroner also found that Wharton had COVID-19 at the time of her death. The virus, along with the effects of a long flight and jet lag, was deemed a possible contributing factor in the athlete’s death, Fox Sports Australia reported. Dr. Kilak Kesha, who conducted the post-mortem, stated that COVID-19 can potentially “unmask” an existing cardiac problem.

Before her death, Wharton had been in Japan with her husband, Andrew, and their daughter, according to multiple reports. A teammate’s child had lost their passport, so she opted to travel with the child instead of heading back to New Zealand with her family and the rest of her team.

Kath’s flight was direct to Auckland and landed before the other plane. She reportedly went to her family’s vehicle and messaged her husband at 12:10 p.m., saying that she would park at McDonald’s and nap until he and their daughter landed.

“When [Kath] did not arrive to pick him up, or respond to messages and calls, her husband made his way to the McDonald’s. There, [Kath] was located, unresponsive, in her vehicle,” the associate coroner’s report read, per Fox Sports Australia.

Kath was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:43 p.m.

“Words cannot express the grief we feel at the loss of my darling Kath. She touched so many lives and worked tirelessly for our people, for our tamariki,” Andrew said after his wife’s death.

Kath played for New Zealand’s women’s rugby league team, the Kiwi Ferns, 14 times between 2008 and 2019, winning one World Cup. She also played three NRLW matches in 2019 for the Warriors, according to Radio New Zealand (RNZ).

In addition to her work on the sports field, Kath was an advocate for her community as the manager of Healthy Families Far North, which aims to “improve the health of our people where we live, learn, work and play.”

“She was a leader, a protector, she was all about Tino rangatiratanga, she was passionate, she was our big sister, our go-to lady and I can’t even imagine what life is going to look like up here without her, it’s really heartbreaking,” Kath’s colleague Talei Anderson told RNZ.

Anderson continued, “She’s inspired many lives, she’s touched many hearts across Northland, she would go to the end and back to ensure we could do our mahi, she was just an amazing person. She was always about giving our rangatahi and tamariki opportunities to thrive. It’s a huge loss for everyone up here.”

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The organization honored Kath via Instagram for International Women’s Day in March.

“Kath didn’t just work in systems change; she lived it. She was relentless in her pursuit of equity and always hustling to shift resources and power into the hands of those who needed them most,” the post read. “Kath had a vision that went beyond her mahi in Healthy Families, it was a vision to build prevention practice across different spaces, places and kaupapa.”

The tribute concluded, “We miss Kath deeply, and we honour her by continuing the mahi — striving for the health and wellbeing of our communities, and our mokopuna.”

New details have emerged in the death of fitness star Nicole Brenda Santos Marins.

Marins’ husband, Alisson Cravo, confirmed her death via social media on Tuesday, August 19, calling the fitness star “an amazing woman, warrior, worker [and] wonderful mother.”

“Thank you for giving me what I didn’t deserve at the moment,” Cravo wrote in one post translated to English from Portuguese by People. “This journey was just the beginning of a beautiful story. Forgive me I will love you forever my wife.”

In another post, Cravo continued, “You brought out my best side. I will miss everything we lived through — all our plans that would happen, the calmness you gave me from your wonderful smile.”

Marins served as a personal trainer, sharing photos of her workouts to her followers alongside inspirational messages.

Scroll down for everything to know about Marins’ death:

What Is Fitness Star Nicole Brenda Santos Marins’ Cause of Death?

No cause of death has been shared.

Brazilian Federal Highway Police told NationalWorld that Marins was driving a motorcycle in Brazil when she experienced mechanical difficulties and pulled off onto the shoulder. Authorities claimed that Marins was struck by a “large” vehicle, which fled the scene.

Is There an Investigation Into the Death of Fitness Star Nicole Brenda Santos Marins?

E! News reported on August 21 that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

What Has Fitness Star Nicole Brenda Santos Marins’ Family Said About Her Death?

While reflecting on the incident, Cravo detailed his final moments with Marins. “I ran from the gym trying to think that it could be fake,” he wrote in Portuguese, per E! News. “I left running with a racing heart not believing that there were sirens there, anxiety was beating, leaving me breathless to get close, but when I saw you on the ground I despaired.”

He continued, “I wanted to feel your pain. Not let you feel alone and hug you, give you my lap and calm you down as always you said you loved it, only you had the power to calm me down and I felt insufficient once again, even you always proving to me that I was everything for you, we were together until the end, go It’s hard to smile without your smile, but give me your strength from above.”

As Cravo continued to mourn Marins, he shared his appreciation for her online community. “I wanted all of you to have the chance to meet this incredible woman, this incredible human being and all her light,” he wrote on Tuesday, per People. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, she deserves all admiration.”