Five years on, and further harrowing details on the death of Glee actress Naya Rivera have emerged this week after her ex-husband gave his first interview since her passing.
Breaking his silence on the tragic accident that saw the 33-year-old drown in 2020 while swimming in a California lake with their four-year-old son Josey, Ryan Dorsey has now revealed that the youngster had attempted to save his mother's life.
Prior to her death, Rivera was recognised worldwide for her role as Santana Lopez in the teen musical series, and had landed roles in the likes of Devious Maids and The Bernie Mac Show.
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In July of 2020, Rivera thought she'd treat her son to a day out on the water.
After renting a boat, the pair took to Lake Piru in California, before an accident saw Rivera sadly pulled underwater while swimming with Josey.
Local police began a search and rescue mission after the youngster was found asleep in a lifejacket on the rental boat - which hadn't come equipped with an anchor or floatation device.
Five days after she went missing, Rivera's body was found in a remote part of the lake.
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In the years that followed her death, Josey's father Dorsey maintained his silence, until this week, when he released a series of new details about the incident in his first interview since the tragic accident.
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Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, the 41-year-old revealed that his son had attempted to save his mother's life that fateful day.
Dorsey explained that - though Josey has predominantly remained quiet in the years since losing his mum - since turning nine he's been able to share more information about what he remembers.
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The father-of-one began by revealing his son had informed him recently that he remembered it being windy the day his mother died, and that though he was initially worried about getting into the water, Rivera had told him, 'Don't be silly!'.
Dorsey added that Josey still feels guilty about witnessing his mother sinking beneath the waves and not having been able to do anything to save her.
"Something he’s said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it," the dad explained.
"I keep reassuring him, 'Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.'
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"That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her. I think she just got caught up in a brush — that or a weird undercurrent from the dam.
"It was just a freak occurrence."
Elsewhere during the interview, Dorsey went on to reveal that their son is still haunting by memories from that summer.
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"He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore," he revealed.
"It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments."
Dorsey added that, while he wasn't there when Rivera drowned, he believes he 'probably would have jumped in' and tried to 'saved the day'.
"But on the other hand, I think maybe something bad could have happened to both of us," he said. "I don’t know."
Topics: Celebrity, Naya Rivera, US News
Rhianna Benson