Michael Duarte's death has officially been ruled as homicide after the popular food influencer was confirmed to have died in a ‘horrible incident’ three days after he and his wife celebrated their wedding anniversary.
On 8 November, Duarte, 34, known by his social media name FoodwithBearHands, died whilst travelling through Texas with his wife Jessica.
The California resident’s death was announced online by his grieving widow, leaving fans shocked at his sudden passing.
She said: "It's been 24 hours since my world came crashing down. I’m numb, angry, depressed. Words can’t describe this kind of pain. I never thought I would be writing this.
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“To the world you were foodwithbearhands but to us you were a loving husband and father. You didn’t deserve this. I will love you forever and I will be strong for our daughter and I know how much you loved us. If everyone can stop and please pray for our family. To my husband I will miss you…until we meet again.”
She also asked that people refrain from sharing misinformation or false details about his death.
The father-of-one had spent years working in restaurants before he started sharing his love for food online, as per People.
“That’s when I realised how happy creating content made me," he said of his passion.
"Over time, I began to see it wasn’t just a hobby - it could be a business, something bigger than myself.”
While his death was initially described as an ‘accident’ by his family, it was later reported that the influencer had been fatally shot by a deputy police officer after he allegedly charged towards her with a knife and threatened to ‘kill’ her.
Per a report by USA Today, representatives for the Medina County Sheriff's Office told the publication that the officer responded to a call ‘involving a male subject with a knife acting erratically’ before shooting him when he apparently came at her.
A spokesperson for the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office has now confirmed that Duarte died from the gunshot wound, and that his manner of death has officially been ruled a homicide.
The spokesperson told People that the full results of an autopsy are still pending.
Per reports, the 911 call was made around 11.28am, which found that Duarte was reportedly ‘making threats to kill everyone’ and ‘attempting to assault Fire and EMS personnel’, the outlet wrote.
He was then struck after being given ‘multiple verbal commands’ by the attending police officer to get on the ground, USA Today said.
Topics: US Food, Social Media
Britt Jones