The family of Demaryius Thomas believes the wide receiver, who was found dead Thursday night at his home in Atlanta, died of a seizure.
According to a report from the Associated Press, LaTonya Bonseigneur, Thomas’s first cousin who was close enough to Thomas to consider Thomas a blood brother, said Thomas had suffered from epilepsy for more than a year and they believed he might have had epilepsy while bathing.
“We’re not sure when he died. We just spoke to him yesterday,” Bonseigneur said, according to the report. “He was alone and a friend couldn’t keep him, so he called his driver, who had the keys because of these seizures, and he came in and found him in the shower. .”
In the AP report, police said preliminary information indicates Thomas, 33, died of medical problems and had no reason to believe otherwise. Thomas will be 34 years old by Christmas.
According to KOA Colorado reporter Benjamin Albright, the seizures are believed to be complications of a car crash in 2019.
I would like to be informed sensitively about how DT passed away, as family members and friends have yet to be notified.
But it seems some information has been out there now, DT passed away due to a seizure. Suspected to be a medical complication from his car wreck in 2019.
– Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) December 10, 2021
Thomas spent 10 years in the NFL, nine of which were with the Broncos, with a brief seven-game stint with the Texans and another season with the Jets. Thomas has caught 724 passes with 9,763 receiving and 63 touchdowns during his career.
While with the Broncos, he won a Super Bowl while playing with Peyton Manning and had four straight seasons with at least 1,300 yards received. With Manning and Thomas, the Broncos made it to the Super Bowl for the first time after the 2013 season, losing to the Seahawks, before winning a Super Bowl 50 over the Panthers two years later.
When Thomas was 11, the police arrested his mother, Katina Smith, and her grandmother, Minnie Pearl Thomas, on drug charges. Smith was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Minnie Pearl Thomas was sentenced to life in prison. Thomas lived with his uncle, James Brown, after Smith went to prison. Brown died on November 15, and Thomas attended his funeral, according to the AP.
President Barack Obama reduced sentences for both women as part of an initiative to reduce sentences for nonviolent drug criminals. Smith was released on July 13, 2015 and Minnie Pearl Thomas was released on August 2, 2016. Smith was able to watch Thomas win Super Bowl 50 in February 2016.
“Demaryius is a great guy,” Bonseigneur told the AP. “He comes from humble beginnings. You know God. He was raised in the church and by a close family. Even though he’s already a star, to us he’s just a kid from Montrose. We never believed he would go on to do all these amazing things. It’s just a kid who loves to play football.”
This is an evolving story. Sporting News will provide official updates as they become available (Last Updated: December 10, 10:19 a.m. ET).
