Malcolm-Jamal Warner ‘Caught in High Current’, Died of Asphyxia in Costa Rica

Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s cause of death has been confirmed.

On Monday, July 21, a source told PEOPLE that the actor had died while on a family trip in Costa Rica. He was 54.

The source shared at the time that Warner had drowned while swimming.

Authorities in Costa Rica have since confirmed the actor’s cause of death on Sunday, July 20, to be the result of drowning.

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that they “removed the body of a man who apparently died as a result of asphyxiation by submersion” that they later identified as Warner.

The statement said that based on preliminary information, “the victim appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current. The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross. However, he was declared lifeless at the scene.”

ABC was first to report the police confirmation. Police told the outlet that Warner was “caught by a high current in the water and was discovered Sunday afternoon.”

Warner was actively hosting his podcast, Not All Hood, in the days leading up to his death.

The actor started the podcast in May 2024, and hosted it alongside Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley.

“When we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those different aspects,” he told PEOPLE of his hopes for the podcast before its launch.

“It’s been an interesting experience for me, because it’s a place where I feel safe enough to be able to be as vulnerable as I allow myself to be,” he said, calling the podcast a space where he can be his “most vulnerable.”

Along with The Cosby Show, Warner starred in a series of hit TV shows.

Following The Cosby Show’s finale in 1992, Warner starred in Malcolm & Eddie from 1996 to 2000 with Eddie Griffin, and then played Alex Reed on Reed Between the Lines with Tracee Ellis Ross from 2011 to 2015.

More recently, Warner had starred in Major Crimes as Chuck Cooper, as Julius Rowe in Suits and as AJ Austin in The Resident. 9-1-1 and Alert: Missing Persons Unit were his most recent credits.

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Warner is survived by his wife and daughter.