Cindy Crawford's Son Presley Gerber Died of Suspected Overdose, Was Being Prescribed Ketamine Despite Addiction History

Presley Gerber, the 27-year-old son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and Casamigos co-founder Rande Gerber, died Sunday, September 20, at a residential rehab facility in Santa Monica. The Santa Monica Police Department said in a release that it is investigating his death as a suspected overdose and that there is no indication of foul play. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy but has not released a cause of death, pending further toxicology testing, according to the Washington Post.

Police responded to a location on Berkeley Street at 9:35 a.m. Sunday after a report of a possible overdose, according to CNN, which cited the same SMPD news release. Officers found an adult male, later identified as Gerber, already deceased. TMZ, which first reported the death, has separately reported that Gerber suffered cardiac arrest before he died, and that sources who saw him in his final hours believed he was under the influence.

The family's representative, Allie Jenkins, confirmed the death to multiple outlets, including ITV News, and issued a brief statement: "The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time." Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber have not commented publicly beyond that statement.

The Ketamine Allegation

TMZ reported Tuesday, citing unnamed people who were in regular contact with Gerber, that a doctor had been prescribing him ketamine despite knowing about Gerber's ongoing struggles with the drug. Those sources told TMZ that close friends are angry the prescriptions continued and believe the doctor should be prosecuted. Thought Catalog's January Nelson repeated the same TMZ reporting in a piece published Tuesday, adding no new sourcing of its own.

No doctor has been named publicly. No law enforcement agency has announced an investigation into any physician, and no charges have been filed against anyone in connection with Gerber's death. The claim that a doctor should face prosecution is the stated opinion of anonymous friends relayed through TMZ, not a determination made by police, prosecutors, or a medical board.

TMZ noted ketamine is sometimes used off-label to treat addiction and depression, though the FDA has not approved it for that purpose. Its only FDA-approved use is as a general anesthetic. TMZ and Thought Catalog both drew a comparison to Matthew Perry, who was prescribed ketamine for depression and anxiety before his 2023 death and later obtained more of the drug from other sources, including Jasveen Sangha, the so-called "Ketamine Queen" who was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison for her role in Perry's death. That comparison is TMZ's own framing, not a finding by investigators in Gerber's case.

Investigators are still trying to determine the source of any drugs involved in Gerber's death, and police have interviewed other patients at the rehab facility, according to TMZ. The NY Post largely restated TMZ's reporting without independent sourcing, presenting the same anonymous claims under its own byline.

A Long, Public Struggle

Gerber had spoken openly for years about mental health and substance issues. He ran a social media series called "Mental Health Mondays" and told the Studio 22 podcast in 2023 that mental health was "such a big part of my life" and "a 24/7 job."

In a December 2025 Instagram video, later removed, Gerber said he had worked with more than 15 psychiatrists and had been prescribed medications including Xanax, Valium and buprenorphine, an FDA-approved treatment for opioid dependence, according to elle.com.au. "Honesty is the best policy," he said in the video, adding that he wished doctors gave him clearer direction rather than a long list of options. He also said committing to sobriety and setting boundaries with parts of his social circle in Hollywood had helped him, though it meant distancing himself from people he cared about.

In his final months, TMZ reported, Gerber had also been trying ibogaine, a psychoactive substance some proponents say can help treat addiction by opening new neural pathways, though it is not FDA-approved for that use.

Gerber began modeling at 15, signing with IMG Models before later joining DNA Model Management in 2019, the same agency that represents his sister Kaia Gerber. He walked runways for Moschino, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and Bottega Veneta, and appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Celine and Pepsi, according to CNN and ITV News.

The ketamine allegation remains unverified: it comes from anonymous friends relayed by a single outlet, no physician has been identified or accused by name in any official proceeding, and the medical examiner has not yet determined what, if anything, was in Gerber's system when he died. Toxicology results, once complete, will determine whether the overdose theory holds and what substances were involved. Until then, both the cause of death and the ketamine prescription claim remain officially unresolved.