Shatner’s Wife Was Drunk When She Drowned

Final autopsy results show that Nerine Shatner, the wife of “Star Trek” star William Shatner, had been drinking heavily and taking sleeping pills the night she died in the swimming pool of her Studio City home.

The former model and aspiring actress, who had two drunk-driving convictions and had been treated several times for alcoholism, had a blood alcohol level of .27 percent, more than three times the legal limit for driving, according to autopsy results released Tuesday.

Authorities believe Nerine Shatner dove into her swimming pool, slammed her head on the pool bottom and drowned. The autopsy report said she had bruises on her face and two cracked neck vertebrae consistent with banging her head on the pool bottom.

The findings help explain what happened the night of Aug. 9 when William Shatner returned to his hillside mansion and found his wife naked at the bottom of their pool.

Nerine Shatner, 40, was known to drink before swimming and had been struggling especially hard with her alcoholism in the days leading up to her death, Shatner told police.

The autopsy supports authorities’ initial belief that there was no foul play and that Nerine Shatner accidentally drowned, said Mike Coffey, the Los Angeles police detective investigating the case.

“The totality of the whole investigation indicates an accident,” Coffey said. “Drinking was definitely a problem for her. Everyone knew she was an alcoholic. She just couldn’t beat her problem.”