One UCSB Student Sexually Assaulted, Another Fatally Overdoses at Same 4th of July Party

One UC Santa Barbara student was allegedly sexually assaulted and another died from an apparent drug overdose at the same 4th of July party in Isla Vista.

The incidents, which appear to be unrelated and occurred more than two weeks ago, had not been publicly disclosed by the university or the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The Independent learned of them through an Isla Vista resident concerned about “accountability and transparency.”

According to Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover, on July 5, at 3:11 a.m., Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an alleged sexual assault at 6793 Estero Road, a four-bedroom home on the western edge of Isla Vista. The victim, a UCSB student, said she had left her cell phone at the house. The deputies made contact with the residents and retrieved the victim’s phone. The bedroom where the alleged assault occurred was located and secured while the deputies obtained a search warrant, said Hoover.

The warrant was served at the house several hours later, where a 20-year-old UCSB student was found dead in a separate bedroom. There were no signs of foul play and the cause of death is pending toxicology results, said Hoover. Other sources have confirmed the death was drug-related.

The Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division is investigating the sexual assault case, while the Coroner’s Office is conducting the death investigation, said Hoover.