Mitt Romney's sister-in-law found dead on street near shopping mall

by · Mail Online

The sister-in-law of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been found dead next to a five-story parking garage on a California street. 

Carrie Elizabeth Romney, 64, was found lying next to the garage in the Los Angeles suburb of Valencia, according to the local coroner's office.  

Officers arrived on the scene at around 8:30pm on Friday near the the town's shopping mall and a local Hyatt Regency Hotel.  

Foul play is not suspected, according to local homicide detectives, though law enforcement sources told NBC Los Angeles that the deceased may have jumped or fallen from the parking garage. 

The sheriff's department told The New York Post that it is 'unknown at the moment' if she jumped or fell.  

Footage showing law enforcement's investigation saw police tape blocking the entrance to much of the scene.

Multiple police vehicles responded to the scene. 

Her cause of death has been listed as 'deferred' while toxicology tests were pending, the Los Angeles County medical examiner. 

Carrie Elizabeth Romney, the sister-in-law of former presidential candidate and Utah Senator Mitt Romney (pictured with his wife Ann), was found dead on a California street Friday. She was 64
According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, she was found lying next to a parking garage in the LA suburb of Valencia . First responders arrived on the scene at around 8:30pm on Friday near the the town's shopping mall, near a local Hyatt Regency Hotel
Foul play is not suspected, according to local homicide detectives, though law enforcement sources told NBC Los Angeles that the deceased may have jumped or fallen from the parking garage

The investigation is ongoing. The Daily Mail has reached out to the LA County Sheriff's Department and coroner's office for comment. 

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

The two-time presidential candidate comes from a large family, with three older siblings and his wife Ann, who has two older brothers. The couple have five sons. 

The Romney family is notoriously close and competitive, with The Washington Post once profiling the then-30 person brood's annual family Olympics on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. 

Similarly, the former governor often championed his status as a family man when he ran for national office in 2008 and 2012. 

Mitt Romney's lengthy career in Republican politics includes a defeat to Barack Obama in the 2012 general election. 

In 2008, he lost the Republican Primary before endorsing the eventual presidential runner-up, John McCain. 

He was also the only member of his party to vote to convict Trump of impeachment twice.

Footage showing law enforcement's investigation saw police tape blocking the entrance to much of the scene
Multiple police vehicles were seen responding to Romney's death

Romney served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and the junior senator from Utah from 2018 to 2024. 

He retired instead of trying to run for re-election, having said the country's many challenges call for a younger generation of leaders. 

Romney said the U.S. would be better served if the two front-runners for their parties' 2024 presidential nominations - Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump - stepped aside. 

'The times we're living in redemand the next generation step up and express their point of view and to make the decisions that will shape American politics over the coming century,' Romney said in a news conference at the Capitol. 

He said baby boomers like him are 'not the right ones to be making the decisions for tomorrow.'

Romney's most recent public appearance came at a forum at Drew University in New Jersey in late September.