Update!

Sage Stallone Death: Everything We Know—So Far

E! News runs down all the facts concerning the tragic passing of Sylvester Stallone's 36-year-old son

By Josh Grossberg Jul 18, 2012 8:06 PMTags
Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Flavin, Sage StalloneAlbert Ferreira/Startraks

A grief-stricken Sylvester Stallone has called the sudden passing of his 36-year-old son Sage Stallone "an agonizing loss."

With a lot of speculative reports now surfacing surrounding his death, E! News has sorted fact from fiction to help keep you up-to-date on the tragedy as Sly and family mourn the young actor and filmmaker whose vibrant life ended all too soon.

• On the evening of July 13, news breaks that Sage Stallone—the eldest of Sylvester Stallone's five children and one of two Sly had with first wife Sasha Czack—was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his housekeeper. Sage's attorney, George Braunstein, disputes tabloid stories suggesting the body may have been there for three or four days, telling E! News that the thesp uploaded photos to his Facebook page "around 17 hours" before the maid's discovery.

• Shortly after learning of the shocking tragedy—which came a day after the action legend appeared on a panel at San Diego's Comic-Con to promote his latest action shoot-'em-up, The Expendables 2—Stallone issues a statement through his rep, saying, "His compassion and thoughts are with Sage's mother, Sasha. Sage was a very talented and wonderful young man, his loss will be felt forever."

• Later that day, police confirm to E! News that there were no signs of forced entry, foul play or any criminal activity. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Coroner launches an immediate probe. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter tells reporters that prescription drugs were recovered at the scene, along with some other items, but investigators could not say whether such medications played a role in Sage's death.

• On July 15, the coroner's office completes its autopsy on the Rocky V and Daylight star. However, results remain pending as of press time, and toxicology test results aren't due back for six to eight weeks.

• With various outlets running unconfirmed stories that Sage may have suffered an accidental overdose or maybe even taken his own life, the elder Stallone issues a statement that begs the public to "respect my talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother Sasha."

"This agonizing loss will be felt for the rest of our lives," Stallone said. "Sage was our first child and the center of our universe and I am humbly begging for all to have my son's memory and soul left in peace."

• That message couldn't be more appropriate in light of an ugly missive sent out by a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based anti-gay group notorious for picketing military funerals. A tweet by Margie Phelps, the daughter of church leader Fred Phelps, urged followers to picket Sage's funeral and referred to Sylvester as the "thrice-married rebel [who] taught his son to mock God."

• On July 16, the LAPD tells E! News that the case is still a coroner's case and has not been turned over to detectives at the agency's Robbery-Homicide Division. That department, however, is assisting in the case because of its celebrity status, and will be kept in the loop during the investigation. The LAPD adds that its investigators are unable to confirm whether medication was found at the scene. However a spokesperson adds that it is normal to contact doctors when medication does turn up and that they investigate all aspects that could determine the cause of death. Depending on what they find, they could possibly contact doctors to obtain medical records.

• Sage's mother told the New York Post that some weeks ago her son had five teeth removed and was likely taking meds to manage the pain. "I told him not to do that," Czack said. "I've heard about people dying having multiple procedures done to your mouth. Do not have more than one tooth [pulled]."

• On July 18, a rep for Stallone called reports that the actor had hired a private investigator to look into Sage's death completely false.

—Additional reporting by Marcus Mulick and Holly Passalaqua