Ron DeSantis’s tragic loss: Florida Governor has stayed silent about the death of his younger sister

As Ron DeSantis celebrates his biggest triumph with his second inauguration, Florida‘s governor is hiding his heartache over the death of his younger sister. 

Although he has acknowledged Christina DeSantis’s 2015 death he has never spoken about it publicly or revealed how she died.

That is in direct contrast to the openness with which he has talked about his wife Casey’s battle with breast cancer. 

Christina DeSantis was just 30 when she died in London in 2015 after battling a sudden illness. Her British fiancé Stephan Pasiewicz was clutching her hand in hospital as she slipped away.

Ron DeSantis’s sister Christina, 30, died from a sudden illness in 2015 and the family have not spoken about the full circumstances surrounding her death. He is pictured with his family at Tuesday’s inauguration

Christina was a financial consultant for KPMG living in London and had met her ‘true love’ a year before she died

She died clutching the hand of her British fiancé Stephan Pasiewicz just as they were preparing to get married and spend their lives together 

DeSantis was inaugurated in the Florida capital Tallahassee for his second four-year term as governor on Tuesday

Christina’s death certificate, obtained by DailyMail.com, reveals she died primarily from pulmonary thromboembolism. A secondary cause is given as ovarian borderline mucinous tumor

Now DailyMail.com can reveal that Christina was struck down by pulmonary thromboembolism – where a blood clot, generally from a leg vein, becomes wedged in an artery in the lungs.

A secondary cause is given as ovarian borderline mucinous tumor, where abnormal cells form in the tissue covering the ovary, according to a death certificate we obtained in London.

Yet the cells are not cancerous and are usually treated with surgery, according to Cancer Research UK. They generally afflict women aged 20 to 40 and are typically diagnosed in the early stages through testing for other matters. 

The financial consultant for KPMG had met Pasiewicz, her ‘true love’ a year before and the ecstatic couple were busy preparing for married life together when she was cruelly struck down.

Her death at The Royal London Hospital in the Whitechapel area of east London rocked the emerging Republican powerhouse, the siblings’ parents and the wider DeSantis family.

The full circumstances surrounding Christina’s tragic death on May 12, 2015 and her life in London have never been revealed by the family. 

DeSantis, 44 – who was a Congressman for Florida’s 6th District at the time his sister died – paid an emotional Facebook tribute at the time, but gave no details.  

‘Casey and I are deeply saddened by the death of our beloved Christina,’ he wrote. 

‘It is hard to fathom how someone who was so happy and full of life could suddenly be taken from us.

‘Ecclesiastes teaches that ‘For everything there is a season.. a time to born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted’.

‘Christina spent her 30 years doing a lot of planting – she was educated, driven and successful in her chosen field. She made her family and friends proud.

Ron DeSantis will cover his 1991 Little League World Series appearance among other aspects of his lifein his upcoming autobiography

‘She found her true love, Stephan, and was set to be married soon. Casey and I were thrilled for her to begin her next chapter in live; a vibrant and exciting future awaited the happy couple.’  

The politician – re-elected governor on November 8 after trouncing Democrat Charlie Crist – continued: ‘How unfair it is that she would leave this world before she could harvest all that she had planted…

‘We will miss Christina’s loyalty, energy, intelligence and good humor. As a daughter, sister, friend and fiancée, she played a key role in so many people’s lives.

‘That her proverbial ‘time to die’ came so soon and so suddenly is not something I will ever be able to fully comprehend… Rest in peace, dear sister.’  

DeSantis has the opportunity of setting the record straight in his autobiography, The Courage to be Free,  which is due to be released on February 28.   

Publishers, Broadside, the conservative wing of HarperCollins Publishing, say it will cover key moments of his life, so it would be an ideal opportunity to address his sister’s untimely death for the first time.

The publishing company told Fox News that among the issues DeSantis will cover in the book are ‘growing up in a working-class family, playing in the Little League World Series, working his way through Yale University and Harvard Law School, volunteering for the Navy after 9/11 and serving in Iraq.’  

DeSantis’s devastated mother Karen started a GoFundMe page after Christina died to raise money for a scholarship at Florida State University, where she studied

On the British death certificate, Christina’s ‘usual address’ on the certificate is given as an apartment in Charlotte, North Carolina, the city where her KPMG office was based.

However, the financier’s Facebook page contained images of London – and Stephan worked for six years until 2012 at ultra-exclusive Coutts Bank, who count the British Royal Family among clients.

The fiancé was associated with an apartment address on the border of trendy Islington, north London, according to records – and he grew up in Billericay, Essex, a town 34 miles from the center of capital.

His most recent job, according to his LinkedIn profile, was as an assistant editor at The Assembly Rooms, a commercial film editing business in Soho, central London. He began it the month before Christina died.

DeSantis is now seen as the great hope for the battered Republican Party. He is tipped to bethe 2024 presidential nominee and so far has not ruled out a run.

 Christina and Ron DeSantis grew up in Dunedin on Florida’s west coast near Tampa with mother Karen, now 74, and their 76-year-old father, also Ronald.

DeSantis said in a tribute to his sister, ‘She found her true love, Stephan, and was set to be married soon. Casey and I were thrilled for her to begin her next chapter in live; a vibrant and exciting future awaited the happy couple’ 

Christina (right) graduated from Dunedin High School in 2003 and received her Bachelor of Science degree Summa Cum Laude in 2007 from Florida State. Three years later she got her Master of Science from the same university

Devastated Karen started a GoFundMe page after Christina died to raise money for a scholarship at Florida State University, where she studied and was passionate about the college’s Seminoles football team. 

‘Words cannot begin to describe our sadness by the sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved Christina,’ the mother wrote on the page. ‘It is hard to fathom how someone who was so happy and full of life could suddenly be taken from us.’

DeSantis may address his sister’s untimely death in his autobiography, due to be published on February 28

She continued: ‘We are so blessed that she found her true love, Stephan, more than a year ago. They were engaged and set to be married soon.

‘He was truly everything to her and her to him. Stephan was with her until the very end, holding her hand as she passed in peace.

‘While we may never comprehend why this happened, we can take peace in knowing that she was truly in love, happy and excited for the next chapter in her life….

‘Christina, we love you and miss you. We are all better people for knowing you and we will never, ever, forget your beautiful face, bubbly personality, incredible memory, intelligence and your Seminole pride.’

Nearly 160 donations were made totaling $16,320, but falling short of the $25,000 target. The biggest was an anonymous $1,000. Poignantly, there was $200 from Stephan’s employers The Assembly Rooms.

Christina graduated from Dunedin High School in 2003 and received her Bachelor of Science degree Summa Cum Laude in 2007 from Florida State. Three years later she got her Master of Science from the same university.

Christina’s sister-in-law, former TV journalist Casey DeSantis, 42, was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, 2021.

Revealing the news, her husband said: ‘I am saddened to report that Florida’s esteemed First Lady has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The governor’s wife, former TV journalist Casey DeSantis, 42, was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, 2021

‘As the mother of three young children, Casey is the centerpiece of our family and has made an impact on the lives of countless Floridians through her initiatives as First Lady,’ DeSantis said at the time of his wife’s diagnosis 

‘As the mother of three young children, Casey is the centerpiece of our family and has made an impact on the lives of countless Floridians through her initiatives as First Lady.’

He continued: ‘As she faces the most difficult test of her life, she will not only have my unwavering support but the support our entire family, as well as the prayers and well wishes of Floridians across our state.

‘Casey is a true fighter, and she will never, never, never give up.’

Florida’s First Lady endured grueling chemotherapy and surgery. In March this year her husband announced: ‘After going through both treatment and surgery for breast cancer she is now considered cancer free….

‘Casey added in a joint video on Twitter: ‘There are no words to express how truly blessed, grateful and humbled I am to hear the words cancer free. To those who are in the fight, know there is hope. Have faith and stay strong.’