The teenage son of former YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki died from a toxic accidental overdose of cocaine, alprazolam, hydroxyzine and amphetamine, a coroner has concluded.
UC Berkeley freshman Marco Troper was found unresponsive in his dorm on the university’s Clark Kerr campus on the afternoon of February 13.
His grandmother Esther Wojcicki said the family feared the 19-year-old had fallen victim to drugs before the cause of death was confirmed on Wednesday as ‘acute combined drug toxicity’ from recreational drugs and anti-anxiety medications.
His mother was one of Silicon Valley’s biggest players before she stepped down as YouTube CEO in 2023 to ‘start a new chapter focused on my family’.
And her ‘math genius’ son was destined for greatness too according to his grandmother who said the family was ‘devastated beyond comprehension’ as she broke news of his death in February.
Marco Troper died from a toxic accidental overdose of cocaine, alprazolam, hydroxyzine and amphetamine, a coroner has concluded.
Troper, pictured with parents Susan and Dennis, was described by his grandmother as an ‘all-around athlete’, who enjoyed all kinds of sports including boxing, swimming and tennis
‘Kids in college, especially freshmen and sophomores, experiment with everything. I think this was an experiment that went wrong,’ she said.
‘He was just getting (started) on his second semester of his freshman year at UC Berkeley majoring in math and was truly loving it.
‘Marco’s life was cut too short. And we are all devastated, thinking about all the opportunities and life experiences that he will miss and we will miss together.
‘We want to prevent this from happening to any other family.’
Alprazolam, sometimes marketed as Xanax, is one of America’s most commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medications, and hydroxyzine is an antihistamine sometimes mixed with cocaine.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information has previously suggested that alprazolam is ‘potentially more toxic in overdose than other benzodiazepines’.
UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said there were no signs of foul play when first responders were called to Troper’s dorm.
The teenager had just started the second semester of his freshman year
The freshman was found dead in his dorm at the University of California at Berkeley in February
Mother Susan was Google’s inaugural marketing manager in 1999 before being appointed CEO of YouTube in 2014
‘Kids in college, especially freshmen and sophomores, experiment with everything. I think this was an experiment that went wrong,’ said his grieving grandmother Esther Wojcicki
Troper’s family live in a $10 million home in Los Altos, California, which they bought for $5.3 million in June 2005
‘Berkeley Fire Department notified UCPD that they were attempting life-saving measures on the victim. UCPD responded, and Berkeley Fire Department pronounced the person deceased,’ she wrote in a statement.
The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau found that ‘suspected illicit and prescription drugs, including Percocet and Oxycodone were found in abundance’ at the scene and that there was no evidence of physical trauma, according to SFGate.
Before attending UC Berkeley, Troper graduated from Menlo School in Atherton, where he took a leading role in the school’s hackathon and tutored numerous students.
School head Than Healy described him as an ‘avid mathematician and computer scientist’ in an email.
‘He was incredibly intelligent, curious, and creative — often showing up to class and community events with a bright smile and an infectious energy,’ Healy wrote.
Professor Freedom Cheteni, who mentored Troper in middle school described him as ‘my most extraordinary moonshot kid’.
‘Marco and I were working on his most inspiring idea to cure cancer leveraging nanotechnologies and Ai the last six years,’ he tweeted.
‘(His) light, leadership and love will never diminish.’
The Silicon Valley scion was planning to major in math and came from a family of academics and tech titans.
Mother Susan was Google’s inaugural marketing manager in 1999 and assumed the position of CEO of YouTube in 2014.
The family lives in a $10 million home in Los Altos, California, which they bought for $5.3 million in June 2005.
She is married to tech executive Dennis Troper while one of her sisters, Anne Wojcicki, is the co-founder CEO of genetic testing company 23andMe, and another Janet Wojcicki, is a professor at the University of California in San Francisco.
The 19-year-old had been planning to major in math at UC Berkeley, his family said
UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said there were no signs of foul play when first responders were called to Troper’s dorm on the Clark Kerr campus
Grandmother Esther has been dubbed the ‘Godmother of Silicon Valley’ and wrote a 2019 book entitled ‘How to Raise Successful People’.
‘At home, he would tell us endless stories of his life and friends at Berkeley,’ she said of the teenager.
‘He was everything you could have wished for in a son and a grandson.
‘He was destined to make a difference. It’s heartbreaking.
‘Marco, we all love you and miss you more than you will ever know.’
