A preliminary report by the coroner said former NFL wide receiver Vincent Jackson may have died for up to three days when he was found in a hotel room in Hillsborough County, Florida, according to Tampa’s WFLA News.
Jackson was found by a hotel’s housekeeper on Monday at approximately 11:30 am. He was 38 years old.
The Hillsborough County Department of Forensic Medicine says the hotel staff entered Jackson’s room on February 13 and 14 and found Jackson sitting on the couch in a sloppy position, assuming he was asleep. The team was concerned when they entered the room on February 15 and saw Jackson lying in the same position.
Family members reported Jackson’s disappearance on February 10. Jackson stayed at the Homewood Suites on February 11 and spoke with the authorities on February 12, after Hillsborough County Sheriff officers located him at the hotel. The missing persons report was canceled after officials assessed Jackson’s welfare.
The exact cause of death is not yet known, although the preliminary medical report shows no signs of trauma.
Hillsborough County sheriff’s office said on Wednesday that it believes Jackson suffered from chronic alcoholism and concussions at the time of his death, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, although the family said the sheriff’s office “does not speak on behalf of the Jackson family. “
Allison Gorrell, spokesman for the family, told Ken Bolson about The New York Times that the family will be donating Jackson’s brain to researchers at Boston University to determine whether he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to recurrent head trauma.
“Since Vincent is who he is, I would like to help as many people as possible,” said Gorrell. “It is something that your family wanted to do to get answers to some of your questions.”