Mitt Romney Speaks Out After Sister-in-Law Carrie Romney Is Found Dead Near L.A. Parking Garage

The for­mer pres­i­den­tial can­di­date and Utah sen­a­tor says his fam­i­ly is “heart­bro­ken” as author­i­ties con­tin­ue to inves­ti­gate Car­rie Romney’s death.

🕯️ A Family in Mourning

For­mer Repub­li­can pres­i­den­tial nom­i­nee and Utah Sen­a­tor Mitt Rom­ney is speak­ing pub­licly for the first time after the trag­ic death of his sis­ter-in-law, Car­rie Eliz­a­beth Rom­ney, who was found dead near a Los Ange­les park­ing garage late last week.

In a state­ment shared with PEOPLE, Rom­ney expressed deep grief over the sud­den loss, say­ing his fam­i­ly is strug­gling to come to terms with the tragedy.

“Our fam­i­ly is heart­bro­ken by the loss of Car­rie, who brought warmth and love to all our lives,” Rom­ney said. “We ask for pri­va­cy dur­ing this dif­fi­cult time.”

🚨 What We Know So Far

The Los Ange­les Coun­ty Sheriff’s Depart­ment con­firmed that Car­rie Rom­ney, 64, was found dead in a park­ing lot in Valen­cia, Cal­i­for­nia, on Fri­day, Octo­ber 10.

Deputies respond­ed to the scene around 8:30 p.m., locat­ing her body in the 24500 block of Town Cen­ter Dri­ve, an area sur­round­ed by retail spaces and a hotel.

Accord­ing to offi­cials, the cause of death is still under inves­ti­ga­tion, and the Los Ange­les Coun­ty Depart­ment of Med­ical Examiner’s Office will deter­mine how she died.

A spokesper­son told NBC Los Ange­les that a woman had either jumped or fall­en from a near­by five-sto­ry park­ing struc­ture next to the Hyatt Regency Hotel, though author­i­ties have not con­firmed whether this is con­nect­ed to Car­rie Romney’s death.

Med­ical exam­in­er records list Carrie’s cause of death as “deferred,” pend­ing fur­ther inves­ti­ga­tion. Her body has been marked as “ready for release.”

❤️ Remembering Carrie Romney

Those close to Car­rie describe her as a kind-heart­ed and lov­ing woman who cher­ished her fam­i­ly deeply. Her loss has sent shock­waves through the Rom­ney fam­i­ly, who are known for their close ties and strong fam­i­ly val­ues.

Rom­ney, 78, recent­ly made head­lines for announc­ing that he will not seek reelec­tion in 2024, urg­ing younger lead­ers to take charge of America’s future. This tragedy comes dur­ing a peri­od of tran­si­tion for both the sen­a­tor and his fam­i­ly.

🕊️ A Request for Privacy

As the inves­ti­ga­tion unfolds, the Rom­ney fam­i­ly has asked for pri­va­cy while they process their grief.

“Carrie’s warmth and love touched every­one she met,” a fam­i­ly friend told Mit­tNews. “This loss is unimag­in­able.”

Author­i­ties are expect­ed to release more infor­ma­tion once the med­ical examiner’s report is com­plete.