SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The family of Kimberly Fattorini is suing former San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman in connection with her fatal overdose, according to a TMZ Sports report.
Fattorini's parents claim Merriman drugged and assaulted their daughter before she died at a house party in 2017, the report says.
In a statement, Merriman's representatives said they are unaware of the lawsuit and that the original police investigation found no wrongdoing by the former NFL star.
Her parents say Fattorini and her friends were invited to a club promoter's house party, and that Merriman "was allegedly witnessed carrying a bottle with some sort of liquid inside."
At some point during the party, she texted the promoter saying, "you friend just poor'd half G in my drink," the lawsuit says. Her "parents believe G refers to GHB," the TMZ report says.
Per the report, Fattorini's parents claim that first responders found her unresponsive and "half naked with jeans unzipped and buttoned" at a party in Los Angeles. A preliminary autopsy listed her death caused by a lethal cocktail of alcohol, cocaine, and gamma-hydroxybutyrate -- the last more commonly known as the "date rape" drug GHB.
The suit alleges that while her autopsy did not reveal foul play, "a test for sexual assault wasn't done because officials said it wasn't conducted at the time of the initial autopsy, and couldn't be done properly afterward," the report says.
The "complaint claims negligence, battery and a violation of the drug dealer liability act," and the Fattorinis are seeking damages, TMZ Sports reports.
Merriman's representative told TMZ, "As of right now Shawne, nor his attorney, have any knowledge of him being named in any lawsuit. This alleged lawsuit is baseless. Shawne attended an after party more than two years ago where a young woman unfortunately overdosed."
"The police thoroughly investigated and found no wrong doing whatsoever by Shawne. The fact that they are raising this now, two years after the fact, demonstrates the baseless nature of these allegations," the statement read.
Fattorini, 30, is known for her work on The Hands of Time (2014), The Hi-Life (2012) and Badass! (2010), according to her IMDb profile page.
Merriman played with the San Diego Chargers from 2005 to 2010 and retired from the NFL in 2013.
