Willis, whose legal name is Litzy Lara Banuelos, checked into the Hope House rehabilitation center in Malibu in early 2024 to address substance use concerns and personal health struggles. Just eight days into her residential stay, on February 5, 2024, staff discovered the 25-year-old unresponsive.
Paramedics rushed Willis to a local hospital where doctors placed her on mechanical ventilation. Initial toxicology screens returned negative for illicit narcotics, complicating early theories surrounding the sudden medical emergency. Medical teams eventually identified the core crisis: prolonged oxygen deprivation triggered by cardiac arrest, resulting in diffuse hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy occurs when brain tissue is starved of oxygenated blood flow for extended periods. Even four to six minutes of oxygen deprivation causes irreversible cellular death in vulnerable areas of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. While emergency teams managed to restart Willis's heart, the lack of cerebral perfusion inflicted permanent neurological trauma.
