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Newly released police interviews with witnesses detail the final hours of beloved comedian Bob Saget’s life.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released photos, bodycam footage and audio of interviews with witnesses who interacted with Saget in the hours leading up to his death. The records were released after a judge banned certain images and video footage from being released to the public at the request of Saget’s family.
Saget was found unresponsive in his Ritz-Carlton hotel room Jan. 9 after his family had been unable to get ahold of him. Body camera footage, released Tuesday, showed officers showing up to the wrong hotel room door before finding the correct one and entering. The rest of the footage is redacted.
Police have said no foul play occurred and ruled Saget’s cause of death as blunt head trauma.
The witnesses were interviewed by Cpl. Brian Meadows after Meadows’ conversations with Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Stephany. According to Meadows, Stephany could “not state definitively” when Saget’s “head wound occurred, but he believed it was probably within hours of his death, possibly within a day or two, depending on several medical factors.”
Stephany had relayed to Meadows that Saget “would have exhibited significant signs that something was wrong.” So in order to “establish a possible time frame,” Meadows “conducted a series of interviews with people who had been in contact” with Saget “in the days immediately preceding his death.”
Witnesses spoke to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office about the comedian’s demeanor in the final hours before his death.
(Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
PHOTOS OF BOB SAGET’S HOTEL ROOM RELEASED BY POLICE
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It was previously confirmed that “no drugs or alcohol were involved” in Saget’s death and witness statements confirmed that.
None of the witnesses recalled Saget having any alcohol before the show at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on the night of Jan. 8. The only beverages Saget requested were Diet Coke, Coke and Red Bull, according to Richard Stanford, whose job was to “arrange hospitality, equipment, labor for setup/tear down” and anything else required for the show.
Elizabeth Glascow, who works as the business manager for the St. John’s County Cultural Events Division, observed Saget while he got ready for the show for about 20 minutes while he performed and while he was leaving. She told police during an interview that Saget never seemed “stoned or drunk or anything like that.”
After the show, Glascow confirmed that Saget “hung out for probably about an hour and a half.”
She also confirmed that the contract for Saget did not request any alcohol. It asked for Diet Coke and a “specific kind of Red Bull.”
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The inside of the hotel room where Saget was found unresponsive by police.
(Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
‘SICK THE NIGHT BEFORE’ BUT ‘DIDN’T MISS A BEAT’
Rosalie Ann Cocci, who worked as a “runner” for the talent, had minimal interaction with Saget. She watched about 30 minutes of the show and told the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that Saget “wasn’t sweaty, he didn’t miss a beat, he didn’t stutter, his language wasn’t drawn out, nothing slurred.”
“He came out very energetic … very much entertaining the crowd,” she added during her interview.
Cocci did note that Saget told her he was recovering from “long-term COVID.”
The show runner also claimed that Saget revealed he had been “sick the night before.”
“Sick in the sense that his hearing was off,” Cocci explained. “He said that he had a sore throat. That he was happy that he had lozenges for the stage.
“He did seem OK … I did hear him say, ‘I don’t feel good, but I’m ready to do the show.’ He said, ‘This is what I do this for.’ It’s kind of like he was talking himself up.”
‘TRAIN OF THOUGHT … CHANGED A COUPLE TIMES’
Stanford recalled Saget’s train of thought bouncing around as the two interacted following the show but chalked it up to Saget being a comedian.
“He’s a comedian, and his thought track is just, you know, is ADD — just boom, boom, boom,” Stanford said.
The witnesses were interviewed by Cpl. Brian Meadows after Meadows’ conversations with Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Stephany.
(Getty Images)
“I don’t know if he stumbled over words,” he responded when asked if Saget had trouble with speaking. “The train of thought just changed a couple times. We’d be talking about a story and then, all of a sudden, he’d bring up this part, and I don’t know personally how those would tie together. Just weird, stepping on himself a little bit.”
Stanford walked Saget to his car following the interaction and didn’t notice any type of physical impairment, according to the police interview.
“At no point did I think anything was wrong,” Stanford said. “He chatted with everyone … He had a good time talking with everyone.”
‘SAME OLD BOB’
Kevin Stone, vice president of programming for the Florida Theatre, characterized the comedian as being the “exact same Bob that [he] met in 2016, to July, to Saturday.”
“He was just the same old Bob,” Stone added later in his interview. “He was talkative and funny, cordial, and he just wanted to talk to people. Same old Bob.”
Following the show, Stone said Saget was “just high on life.”
“He loved it. He did two hours, was just thrilled. He was so happy,” Stone told the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Stone confirmed to police that Saget was having no issues with “losing balance or sweating or any that kind of stuff.” He did note that he had provided Saget with tea and honey prior to the show to help with the comedian’s throat.
Saget’s death was ruled an accident, and the cause of death was determined to be blunt head trauma.
(Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
‘JUST SEEMED FINE’
Orlando Nunez, who helped Saget with his rental car at the Ritz-Carlton following the show, recalled his 10-minute interaction with the comedian. The two chatted for a few minutes before Nunez asked Saget for a selfie, which the comedian obliged.
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“He just seemed fine,” Nunez told police when questioned. “I mean, I’m not really sure what else I could say.
“Everything about my interaction with him just seemed fine,” Nunez reiterated when asked if Saget was slurring his speech or exhibiting other odd behavior. “Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”
The beloved “Full House” star died Jan. 9. He is survived by his wife Kelly Rizzo and three children from a previous marriage.
At the time of his death, Saget’s wife issued a statement to Fox News Digital.
“My whole heart. Bob was my absolute everything,” she said in part. “I am so completely shattered and in disbelief. I am so deeply touched by the outpouring of love and tribute from our friends, family, his fans and his peers.”
