New information from his autopsy report reveals therapy sessions, troubling remarks, and strange circumstances surrounding his last moments. The film industry mourns the passing of a talented filmmaker best known for Life After Beth and The Little Hours.
What do the autopsy findings reveal?
According to documents obtained by DailyMail.com, actress Aubrey Plaza and her husband Jeff Baena split up months before the director committed suicide in Los Angeles. An autopsy report issued by the LA County Medical Examiner on Wednesday states that Plaza, 40, and Baena, 47, split up in September 2024.
The director was still residing at the couple’s previous marital residence in Los Angeles when Baena was discovered dead on January 3. After the split, Plaza remained in New York.
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According to the report, Baena died by hanging, and when a dog walker found his body, she called 911. The documents described Jeff Baena’s therapy sessions and her “marital difficulties.”Aubrey Plaza spoke to her estranged husband the night before he committed suicide, according to an investigator whose name was removed from the report.
What led to their quiet separation?
According to the investigator, “she acknowledged that she had been apart from her husband Jeff Baena since September 2024.”
After Baena made unsettling comments to Plaza in October 2024, she called a friend to conduct a welfare check on her husband. Since then, Baena has been going to therapy.
The report stated that neither drugs nor alcohol were detected in Jeff Baena’s system, as per a report by the Daily Mail.
According to an investigator, a cell phone was discovered on a step between the rails on the home’s staircase, but no suicide note was discovered.
According to the report that DailyMail.com was able to obtain, the director had a history of trouble sleeping but no history of prior suicide attempts.
Plaza ‘knew her husband to be alive’ because he texted her that morning, according to the document.
The dog walker, whose name was also removed from the report, told investigators that she had come to walk Baena’s dog as usual on January 3 at around 10:25 a.m.
“It was unusual for her to hear loud music coming from inside the house,” the investigator said. She screamed at Baena but got no answer.
After entering, the dog walker discovered his body. After taking the dog outside, they dialed 911.
After earning a degree in film from New York University, Baena moved to Los Angeles to start his career.
As he established himself in the business, he held low-level positions for well-known directors like David O. Russell and Robert Zemeckis.
His most well-known works are The Little Hours and Life After Beth, his first feature film in which Plaza starred. Life After Beth, which debuted at Sundance in 2014, Joshy, which debuted at the festival and received a Grand Jury Prize nomination; and I Heart Huckabees were all co-written by him.
FAQs
Did Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza separate before his death?
Yes, reports confirm that their marriage ended in September 2024. Plaza lived in New York, while Baena remained in Los Angeles and was later discovered dead in their former home.
Were there warning signs prior to Jeff Baena’s death?
According to reports, Baena was in therapy and made concerning remarks in October, prompting Plaza to conduct a welfare check. However, no drugs, alcohol, or suicide notes were discovered on the scene.
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