Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has spoken out after his sister-in-law, Carrie Romney, was found dead beside a shopping mall’s parking garage on Friday (October 10).

“Our family is heartbroken by the loss of Carrie, who brought warmth and love to all our lives,” the former Utah Republican Senator said in a statement to People. “We ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

Carrie’s body was discovered by a passerby on Friday evening beside a parking lot in Valencia, California. According to ABC News, homicide investigators were called to the scene in the Town Center Drive area at around 9 pm.

A preliminary assessment suggested Carrie may have jumped or fallen from the five-story parking structure. However, the investigation into the death is ongoing and is currently listed as “deferred” until the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner’s Office determines an official cause of death.

“We don’t know if it was suicide or accidental,” LA County Sheriff’s spokesperson Lt Daniel Vizcarra said in a statement, per The Independent. “There is not enough information to go by yet on what the coroner has given us so far.”

Carrie appeared to be the ex-wife of Mitt’s older brother, G. Scott Romney, the 84-year-old attorney who frequently supported Mitt on his campaign trail over the years.

According to The Daily Mail, Carrie and Scott separated after eight years of marriage back in May, with Scott filing for divorce on June 10, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The former couple didn’t share any children.

Mitt served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party’s nominee in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, where he hoped to defeat President Barack Obama in his bid for a second term. After his failed election bid, he was later elected U.S. senator from Utah in 2018, serving in the position until January 2025.