✦David Anthony Kennedy

Early Life and a Defining Trauma

David Anthony Kennedy was born on June 15, 1955, in Boston, Massachusetts, the fourth son of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. On the night of June 4, 1968, twelve-year-old David watched television in a Los Angeles hotel room as his father claimed victory in the California Democratic primary — and then witnessed the live news coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination in the hotel kitchen moments later. Those who knew David said he was never the same afterward. The trauma of watching his father die on television, alone, at twelve years old, left a psychological wound that never fully healed.

Addiction and Death

As a young man, David Kennedy drifted into drug and alcohol abuse and cycled through rehabilitation facilities over the years with limited lasting success. In the weeks before his death, members of the Kennedy family organized a private intervention in an effort to address his addiction.

On April 25, 1984, David Kennedy was found dead in his room at the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 28 years old. The medical examiner determined he had died of an accidental drug overdose; cocaine and two prescription drugs — Demerol and Mellaril — were found in his system. His death came just days after the family intervention.

How did David Kennedy die?

David Kennedy died of an accidental drug overdose on April 25, 1984, at the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 28 years old. Cocaine, Demerol, and Mellaril were found in his system.

Why is David Kennedy's story significant?

David Kennedy's story is notable for the documented psychological impact of witnessing his father Robert F. Kennedy's assassination on live television at age 12, an event widely considered a formative trauma that contributed to his subsequent struggles with drug addiction throughout his short life.