Six months after Loana Petrucciani was found dead in her Nice apartment, prosecutors have revealed that the first winner of Loft Story died from a combination of chronic substance use, acute sedative toxicity, and medical metabolic failure.
The findings released by Nice public prosecutor Damien Martinelli bring an official conclusion to an investigation that began when emergency services discovered her body on March 25, 2026. Investigators established that the 48-year-old former reality television star had passed away several days prior inside her residence near the Nice train station.
Medical Findings From the Nice Prosecutor Office
Medical examiners determined that the death stemmed from a complex web of health factors rather than a single acute event. According to the prosecutor’s office, speaking to Nice-Matin, the final synthesis points to an acute toxic concentration of sedative medications
acting alongside a medical metabolic failure.
Those toxicological conclusions arrived after supplementary laboratory testing evaluated biological samples collected during the initial autopsy performed on March 30, 2026, and made public the following day. Officials noted that the deceased carried a history of chronic substance use involving alcohol and narcotics, operating on top of a physical condition described as exceptionally precarious.
Damien Martinelli described the death as multifactorial (…) against a backdrop of chronic substance use (alcohol, narcotics)
according to Linternaute and Le Parisien.
Firefighters Find Dead Television Personality and Dog
The initial discovery occurred on March 25 after a worried female neighbor gave the alarm and, alongside the building concierge, reported a strong odor emanating from the residence on Rue Gounod. Because the apartment door was locked from the inside, firefighters gained entry through a window in the late afternoon, around 18 hours.
Responders found the living space in grand disarray and poorly maintained. Alongside the former television personality, her dog Titi was discovered dead inside the home. Early examinations quickly dismissed any third-party involvement, clearing up malicious rumors circulating online.
While initial medical checks noted a shallow scalp wound at the back of the skull and minor back, lumbar, and buttocks bruising that had previously suggested an accidental fall backward, subsequent toxicology reports shifted the focus entirely toward the combination of metabolic failure and ingested substances. Autopsy results confirmed the absence of fractures, violent blows, strangulation, or signs of seizure.
Public Reaction and Memorial Services in Nice
The loss of France’s pioneering reality television figure prompted widespread mourning among viewers who remembered her 2001 victory on the inaugural season of Loft Story alongside Christophe Mercy when she was just 23 years old. Memorial tributes culminated during her funeral services on April 10, 2026, held at the Cathedral of Sainte-Réparate in Nice, where a numerous crowd gathered alongside her loved ones and figures from the Loft.
Family members attended the service while fans also gathered and left floral tributes and messages at the foot of her building. Amid the aftermath, her former companion Sophie had to publicly refute false claims regarding her presence at the time of death.