Originally appeared on E! Online.
New details about the mysterious death of Dan Rivera have been revealed.
A week after the paranormal investigator was found dead in his Gettysburg hotel room amid a national tour with the Annabelle doll — an allegedly haunted object that inspired “The Conjuring” franchise — a Pennsylvania coroner has shared whether the toy was in the room at the 54-year-old’s time of death.
Francis Dutrow, the coroner in charge of Rivera’s case, told CNN July 17 that the doll — a Raggedy Ann toy that is thought to be possessed by the spirit of a little girl — was not present in the room where Rivera was found dead.
E! News has reached out to Dutrow regarding his latest statement about Rivera’s death — which Pennsylvania authorities said in a July 16 police report was “natural.”
The coroner’s confirmation comes just days after “Ghost Hunters” alum Jason Hawes, who starred on the paranormal series from 2004 to 2016, slammed those suggesting there was correlation between the haunted object and Rivera’s tragic death.
READ: Police Share Findings Into Annabelle Doll Handler Dan Rivera’s Death
“Recently the World lost a good man,” Hawes wrote in a July 15 Facebook post. “Dan Rivera was an Army veteran, a father of four, a husband, and someone who truly cared about people. What’s even harder to see right now are the posts blaming his death on things like the Annabelle doll.”
Indeed, while investigators previously confirmed in a report they found “nothing unusual or suspicious” in the room where Rivera was found dead, many people on social media have focused on the coincidence of Rivera’s profession with his mysterious death.
“Some people are using his passing to push an agenda for profit, and it’s just disgusting,” Hawes continued. “Dan was a family man, a respected paranormal investigator, and he left this world way too soon. Let’s focus on remembering Dan for who he was, not turning his death into some made up bulls–t story to get clicks or attention.”
