The 19-year-old son of former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki was discovered deceased at the University of California, Berkeley, according to a Facebook post by his grandmother.
A student residing at the Clark Kerr Campus, a student housing facility, was found unconscious around 4:23 p.m. local time on Tuesday, as stated by UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore.
The victim’s identity and demise were confirmed by his grandmother, Esther Wojcicki, in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
“My beloved grandson Marco Troper, age 19, passed away yesterday. Our family is devastated beyond comprehension,” Esther Wojcicki said.
She said Troper was “the most kind, loving, smart, fun and beautiful human being.”
The Berkeley Fire Department responded to the complex and notified the University of California Police Department that it was “attempting life-saving measures” on the student, Gilmore said. By the time campus police arrived, the BFD had pronounced him dead.
Gilmore said there were no signs of foul play and that an investigation into the death was underway.
According to his grandmother, Troper “was just getting started” in his second semester of freshman year at UC Berkeley, where he was majoring in math “and was truly loving it.”
Aside from “thriving academically,” Esther Wojcicki said, Troper had a “strong community of friends,” both from his dorm and his fraternity.
“At home, he would tell us endless stories of his life and friends at Berkeley,” she wrote.
“Marco’s life was cut too short. And we are all devastated, thinking about all the opportunities and life experiences that he will miss and that we will miss together,” Esther Wojcicki said. “Marco, we all love you and miss you more than you will ever know.”
Esther Wojcicki did not respond immediately to a request for comment from NBC News.
While the cause of Troper’s death remains undetermined, Esther Wojcicki mentioned to SF Gate that she suspects her grandson passed away due to a drug overdose. She stated that the family is awaiting the findings of a toxicology report.
“He ingested a drug, and we don’t know what was in it,” she told SF Gate, adding: “One thing we do know, it was a drug.”
“We want to prevent this from happening to any other family,” Esther Wojcicki told SF Gate.