‘OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN’

Former Obama White House Chef’s Drowning Death Was Accidental: Autopsy

The chef was paddle boarding on a Martha’s Vineyard lake last month when he was seen slipping beneath the water and failing to resurface.

The drowning of the Obama family’s longtime chef has been ruled an accident, the Massachusetts medical examiner’s office said Tuesday. Tafari Campbell, 45, was paddle boarding on Edgartown Great Pond the night of July 23 when he was witnessed falling into the water, according to Massachusetts State Police. Campbell appeared to struggle before slipping beneath the water and failing to resurface. His body was recovered the following morning. He’d been visiting Barack and Michelle Obama at their Martha’s Vineyard home at the time, authorities said. The couple were not home at the time of the incident. In a statement, the Obamas said they had asked Campbell to stay on as their personal chef after leaving his position as a White House sous chef. “He’s been part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that he’s gone,” the Obamas said. Campbell is survived by his wife and twin boys.