The Clearwater Police Department has completed its investigation into the July 24, 2025 death of Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). The following is the police summary and findings:
The following serves as a summary of the investigation into the death of Terry Gene Bollea. It is not intended to provide specific details for individual investigative steps. Please refer to the appropriate report for additional details.
On 7/24/25, at 09:50 hours, the Pinellas County Regional 911 center received a call at 1040 Eldorado Avenue for a possible cardiac arrest. Clearwater Fire Department and Sunstar personnel arrived on scene within minutes and immediately radioed that they were working a cardiac arrest.
At 10:18 hours, the Clearwater Police Department communications center received a call from the Pinellas County Regional 911 Center requesting law enforcement respond to the scene as a matter of protocol for a cardiac arrest. The Clearwater Police Department was advised at the time that EMS personnel were currently performing CPR on the patient and police officers responded for an “assist other agency” call.
Upon the arrival of officers Jordan Bailey and Jay Albis, they observed members of Clearwater Fire Department performing lifesaving measures on Terry Bollea in the living room of the residence. Officers observed Melanie “Sky” Bollea present in the residence along with two employees from Mr. Bollea’s assigned home health company, Visiting Nurses Association. The two healthcare workers were identified as Justin McCamey, an occupational therapist, and Dana Swinton, a home health aide.
Shortly after the arrival of Clearwater Police officers, EMS personnel moved Mr. Bollea to the ambulance and transported him to Morton Plant Hospital in cardiac arrest. Care was transferred to the staff of Morton Plant ER whereupon Mr. Bollea was pronounced deceased at 11:17 hours following approximately forty-five minutes of lifesaving measures.
Officer Bailey spoke briefly with Ms. Swinton prior to her departure from the scene at which time she stated she had arrived at approximately 07:00 hours and assisted Mr. Bollea with breakfast and positioning within his recliner. Ms. Swinton reported she and Mr. McCamey went to the bathroom to set it up for the scheduled therapy and shortly after returning, Mr. McCamey went to check Mr. Bollea’s vital signs and discovered he was pulseless. At this time, Mrs. Bollea was with them in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Bollea as she called 911. They were able to move Mr. Bollea to the ground where Mr. McCamey immediately began performing chest compressions on him until EMS personnel arrived on scene.
Ofc. Bailey conducted an interview with Mr. McCamey who identified himself as a home health occupational therapist, contracted by Tampa General Hospital. Mr. McCamey informed Ofc. Bailey, he had arrived approximately ten minutes before the incident occurred. Mr. McCamey reported after he and Ms. Swinton had gone to the bathroom to set up the room for the scheduled therapy for the day. Mr. McCamey then attempted to take vital signs on Mr. Bollea. Mr. McCamey stated he did not feel a pulse, and he called his supervisor before they were able to move him to the ground and begin CPR.
Mr. McCamey displayed a tablet device to Ofc. Bailey which contained Mr. Bollea’s medical records to include a list of medications. Mr. McCamey informed Ofc. Bailey that this was his second visit with Mr. Bollea and that he had been deteriorating medically. Mr. McCamey reported to Ofc. Bailey that Mr. Bollea had undergone surgery on his neck and alleged that the phrenic nerve was severed during the operation. Additionally, he reported Mr. Bollea had undergone surgery on his aortic valve within the past month or two and that this was his second visit to care for Mr. Bollea. Mr. McCamey explained to Ofc. Bailey that he had completed his initial evaluation the week prior and he, “was kinda surprised he made it through the week.”
Detectives later conducted follow-up interviews with Mr. McCamey to obtain additional context surrounding his knowledge of the alleged phrenic nerve injury as well as background information concerning his training and experience. Mr. McCamey stated all information he knew regarding Mr. Bollea’s medical condition was gleaned from the tablet his company provides him. Mr. McCamey advised he had no prior or additional knowledge regarding Mr. Bollea’s health conditions, other than what was in the medical record on his tablet. Mr. McCamey also confirmed that he is not and was not a medical doctor and possesses a license in occupational therapy only. Mr. McCamey stated when he made comments about the phrenic nerve injury, he spoke out of turn and was nervous after having just performed CPR on Mr. Bollea, which was the first time he had done so in his life.
Contact was made with Mrs. Bollea and Nicholas Bollea at Morton Plant Hospital where further details surrounding Mr. Bollea’s medical history were obtained. According to Mrs. Bollea and Nicholas Bollea, Mr. Bollea had been suffering from numerous medical diagnoses to include leukemia, atrial fibrillation, pneumonia and kidney failure. Additionally, Mr. Bollea had undergone multiple hospitalizations over the course of the last several months for myriad of conditions.
A statement was obtained from Mrs. Bollea and Nicholas Bollea. Mrs. Bollea reported that the occupational therapist and the home health aide had begun to set up for Mr. Bollea’s therapy session for the day. She advised Mr. Bollea had been seated in his recliner in the living room of the residence and had eaten a small breakfast. As Mr. McCamey was taking vital signs, she noticed it appeared as though Mr. Bollea’s chest was no longer rising and falling and she went to check on him. At this point, she and Mr. McCamey realized he did not have a pulse and Mrs. Bollea immediately called 911. 911 call recordings were obtained and corroborated the timelines and information provided by all parties involved as well as the information provided by Mrs. Bollea to the 911 call taker.
Detectives conducted a visual inspection of Mr. Bollea’s body which did not reveal any signs of trauma or injury.
Morton Plant Hospital staff, following the death of Mr. Bollea, contacted his family primary care physician, Dr. Gerald Fitzgerald who advised he would sign Mr. Bollea’s death certificate.
An interview was completed with Dr. Fitzgerald who reported he was Mr. Bollea’s family physician for the past ten to fifteen years and saw him for general ailments. Dr. Fitzgerald stated he received a call from the attending emergency room physician at Morton Plant Hospital on 7/24/25, Dr. Erika Francis. Dr. Fitzgerald stated he was advised by Dr. Francis that Mr. Bollea had come into the emergency department in asystole and after approximately forty-five minutes life-saving measures resulting in no cardiac rhythm changes, she pronounced Mr. Bollea deceased and asked if Dr. Fitzgerald would be willing to sign the death certificate. Dr. Fitzgerald stated that based on what he was told by Dr. Francis, he believed the cause of death was cardiac in nature and agreed to sign the certificate.
On 7/24/25, contact was made with investigators from the District VI Medical Examiner’s Office who advised the case was not a medical examiner’s case based on the facts and circumstances presented and as such, would not be conducting an autopsy or taking custody of Mr. Bollea’s remains.
Florida Administrative Code rule 11G-2.003 and Chapter 406 of the Florida State Statutes establish the legal framework for the state’s medical examiner system. Together, they govern how, when, and by whom investigations and autopsies are conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.
Officers later collected the medications currently prescribed to Mr. Bollea and conducted a pill inventory which indicated Mr. Bollea was taking fewer medications than he was prescribed. The Clearwater Police Department enlisted the assistance of the DEA to ascertain if there were any prescribing anomalies in relation to any opiates. The DEA verified that there were no anomalous prescriptions of any opiates to Mr. Bollea by Dr. Fitzgerald or any other prescribers within the past six months. While conducting the pill inventory, detectives discovered that Mr. Bollea was taking a lower dose of the prescribed opiates, inconsistent with an individual suffering from a current addiction. Additionally, none of the medications collected by the Clearwater Police Department had been prescribed by Dr. Fitzgerald.
Due to the allegations made by Mr. McCamey indicating the possibility of an injury to Mr. Bollea being a potential proximal cause of death, several subpoena requests were completed requesting Mr. Bollea’s medical records from several medical providers with consent provided by his next of kin, Mrs. Bollea. The subpoenas were ultimately served by the State Attorney’s Office for the 6th Judicial Circuit to Morton Plant Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, Visiting Nurses Association and Good Samaritan Hospital. Over the course of several months, the results were received from all entities. A review of the medical records yielded several medical diagnoses and multiple, extended hospitalizations and declining health over the few months preceding Mr. Bollea’s death consistent with the interviews provided by Mrs. Bollea and Nicholas Bollea.
On 8/27/25, Mrs. Bollea and Nicholas Bollea allowed Det. Bieber to review home surveillance footage from the morning of 7/24/25. The camera view captured the living room of the residence where Mr. Bollea was located at the time he went into cardiac arrest by responding officers and medical personnel. The recording was viewed in person, in the residence and it corroborated the statements previously made by Mrs. Bollea, Ms. Swinton and Mr. McCamey regarding the series of events immediately preceding and after Mr. Bollea went into cardiac arrest. The footage was not collected and remained in the family’s possession.
Detectives conducted interviews with all responding emergency medical services providers. Interviewed EMS personnel also did not report seeing any signs of trauma or injury to Mr. Bollea’s body.
It was later learned that Mrs. Bollea and Nicholas Bollea had arranged for a private autopsy to be completed on Mr. Bollea. The Clearwater Police Department received an abbreviated summation of the autopsy report from Dr. Daniel Schultz, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy. In his summation, Dr. Schultz writes that he performed the autopsy on 8/16/25 at 11:55 hours. Dr. Schultz writes that Mr. Bollea died, “exclusively from compelling natural disease, with no reasonable traumatic or terminal toxicologic contributions. As such, the manner of death is also natural.”
Following an exhaustive review of the statements, medical records, surveillance footage from within the residence, and a visual inspection of Mr. Bollea’s body, there has been no evidence to indicate the death of Terry Bollea was anything other than natural. Through the course of the investigation, there has been no evidence to indicate any criminal wrongdoing related to his death. This case will be closed, and will be considered solved, non-criminal.
If you or a loved one have suffered serious harm (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in Florida or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Florida medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice lawyers in your U.S. state who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.