Drena De Niro visited her 19-year-old son Leandro‘s grave over three months after his tragic death. Robert De Niro‘s adopted daughter posted a heartbreaking Instagram tribute to the late teenager on October 16 with photos of her and a friend at Leo’s graveside. Drena, 52, showed off a rock with a winged heart on it that said, “To Leo, we love you. The world misses you.” Drena lost her son to a drug overdose on July 2.
“I f everyone valued the depth of love & sadness, a person can feel I don’t believe we’d have wars, we wouldn’t hurt children, animals, eachother our planet and oceans the way we do,” Drena began her caption. “Im grieving both for myself ,my loved ones and everyone who has ever lost a child or one whom they’ve loved so deeply. I’ll never get used to this, no one should.”
She continued, “Praying for the whole world to heal and for this heart that beats inside me to find peace Thank you @trailer518 for a beautiful day visiting our lil ‘bruh’ Leo. I’m sure he was up there laughing at you keeping vigil while mom pees behind the flower bed.”
Drena confirmed her son died via Instagram on July 3. “My beautiful sweet angel. I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly,” she wrote alongside a beautiful photo of Leo. “You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you right now,” she added. A few days after Leo’s death was announced, the De Niro family gathered together for a wake for the teenager in New York City.
Leo’s cause of death was confirmed to be from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl. On August 9, Drena shared a lengthy message on Instagram and spoke out against the misconceptions of her son’s passing. She denied that Leo was aware he was taking a fentanyl laced substance when he passed away. Drena also shared that Leo “suffered tremendously” during the COVID-19 pandemic and developed an addiction that sadly led to his death.
Drena’s famous father publicly mourned his grandson in an emotional statement one day after Leo’s death. “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” Robert said in a statement directly to HollywoodLife on July 3. “We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”