Marion Barber’s family doesn’t know cause of death, but says brain won’t be studied for CTE
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Marion Barber dead at 38
Dallas Cowboys RB Marion Barber found dead in his apartment by Frisco police. He was 38. Barber played seven years in the NFL, six for the Cowboys.
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Former Dallas Cowboys RB Marion Barber found dead in his apartment by Frisco police
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The family of Marion Barber III still doesn’t know the cause of death of the former Dallas Cowboys running back, who was found dead in his apartment Wednesday by Frisco police.
The family is delicately moving forward with his funeral arrangements while also navigating the impending nuptials of Barber’s youngest brother Thomas on June 10.
That day, not coincidentally, happens to be Barber’s birthday, a date selected long ago as a tribute to Barber. He would have turned 39.
The wedding will go on as planned with a memorial service set for June 22 in their hometown of Minneapolis, his father Marion Barber II told the Star-Telegram on Thursday. The time and site have not been determined.
According to the elder Barber, the coroner in Frisco hopes to know more on Sunday, as he continues the investigation that is complicated by the condition of the body.
Barber’s decomposed body was found in the bathroom of his apartment and may have been there for several days with the hot shower running, Barber said.
Sources said police went to his apartment to do a welfare check after residents reported water leaking from his unit.
Foul play is not suspected.
“They are just using tissue as they dig further into the cause of death,” Barber II said. “They are ruling out things. They haven’t seen any trauma, no foul substances in his body. His lungs were in working order. The heart and veins around the heart were good. They are ruling things out. Right now, we are just waiting.”
The body is slated to be picked up and flown to Minneapolis on Thursday of Friday to prepare for the funeral.
Barber had suffered some mental health challenges since his retirement from the NFL in 2012 after seven seasons, including six with the Cowboys.
He was hospitalized as least twice for mental health evaluations.
But his family will not donate his brain for CTE research and there will be no extensive autopsy, according to his wishes.
“He was real specific in his will that he didn’t want that,” Barber II said. “We are going to respect that. But in the condition his body was in, according to the examiner, that probably would have been a moot point because of the decomposition.”
Barber said the family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support they have gotten from fans, former teammates, other NFL players and the Cowboys organization.
“I know it feels good to us to know that he was loved and respected that much,” Barber said. “The responses we have seen just warms your heart. That is what my family remembers. We appreciate the Cowboys as an organization. It is really comforting to know he had that kind of support.
“Hopefully by midweek, we will have something a little more definitive in terms of a venue for his services. We got to take care of my baby and get him married off this week.”
