Police: Fall Preceded Lisa de Kooning's Death

According to U.S. Virgin Island Police officials, a man who called police on the night of Lisa de Kooning's death reported that she had fallen before he callled emergency services, and was unresponsive even before help arrived.

Virgin Island Police Public Information Officer Melody Rames said on Monday evening that the man – whose identity was not released – had been told by de Kooning to lock a home office at her residence before leaving early Friday morning, and while he was doing so, he reported hearing a "loud noise like someone fell."

Rames said he then went and found de Kooning on the floor. He tried communicating with her but she was reportedly unresponsive, and he placed her on the bed before notifying authorities.

Rames said the emergency call came in around 2:30 a.m.

"When emergency medical technicians came to the home, she had no vital signs, and she was removed from the home," Rames said.

De Kooning, a Springs resident who was the only child of famed artist Willem de Kooning, was well-known for her own dedication to the arts and benevolence. In addition to contributing to local organizations in the Hamptons, de Kooning contributed to the Virgin Islands National Park and to Team River Runner’s Wounded Veterans USVI program.

The cause of her death remains under investigation by detectives, Rames said, and no cause of death has been determined. De Kooning's body was transported to a medical examiner's office in St. Thomas.

De Kooning, 56, is survived by her three children, Isabel, Emma, and Lucy de Kooning Villeneuve.