Saoirse Kennedy Hill, Granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Dies at 22 After Apparent Overdose
The 22-year-old died after reportedly suffering an apparent overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the late Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter, has died. She was 22.
The daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill was found dead on Thursday afternoon after reportedly suffering an apparent overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, according to The New York Times.
Hyannis Fire Captain Greg Dardia tells ET that his team responded to an emergency call to 28 Marchant Avenue just after 2 p.m. According to Dardia, the call was considered a "priority one medical call," which is the highest level of emergency. In these situations the person is unstable and requires immediate medical attention. Both an ambulance and firefighters are dispatched. According to Dardia, the patient was transported to Cape Cod Hospital.
In a statement obtained by ET, the Robert F. Kennedy Family expressed their heartbreak while confirming Saoirse's death.
"Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love. She cared deeply about friends and family, especially her mother Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel, who said, 'The world is a little less beautiful today," the statement reads. "She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit. Saoirse was passionately moved by the causes of human rights and women’s empowerment and found great joy in volunteer work, working alongside indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. We will love her and miss her forever."
Saoirse was enrolled at Boston College, where she was majoring in communications.
In a 2016 op-ed for the Deersfield Scroll, Saoirse opened up about her battle with depression and attempted suicide.
"My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life. Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest," she wrote. "These bouts would come and go, but they did not outwardly affect me until I was a new sophomore at Deerfield."
She then explained how someone she "knew and loved broke serious sexual boundaries with me." "I did the worst thing a victim can do, and I pretended it hadn’t happened. This all became too much, and I attempted to take my own life," she revealed.
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