Motwani's death due to 'accidental drowning'

The death of Rajeev Motwani, India-born Stanford professor and the mentor and adviser of founders of top internet firms like Google and PayPal, was a case of accidental drowning, police said on Friday, ruling out any murder possibility.

Police concluded its investigations into the case after the autopsy report released by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office revealed that Motwani’s blood alcohol level was 0.26 when he died as against the permissible driving level of 0.08.

San Mateo County Corner Robert Foucrault termed it as an “unfortunate accident”.
The news of the sudden death of 47-year-old Motwani, whose body was found in the backyard swimming pool of his Palo Alto home, on June 5 had sent shock waves across the Silicon Valley.

Motwani’s friends said he did not know swimming.

“It is difficult to know what effect a given alcohol level will have on a person because tolerance varies from individual to individual,” Foucrault said.

“It was a contributing factor but the cause of death was drowning,” he said, adding there would be no further investigation of the death.

Motwani was the master brain behind several of the key advancements in the world of internet including Google and PayPal.

‘Friend and teacher’
Describing Motwani, as his friend and teacher, Google founder Sergey Brin wrote on his blog: “Whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it.”

“Rajeev remained a friend and advisor as he has with many people and startups since. Of all the faculty at Stanford, it is with Rajeev that I have stayed the closest and I will miss him dearly. Yet his legacy and personality lives on in the students, projects, and companies he has touched.”

A student of the prestigious St Coloumba’s School in New Delhi, Motwani was born in Jammu and Kashmir on March 26, 1962.