Rep. Tom McClintock’s wife died after ingesting herbal supplement, coroner’s report shows
Lori McClintock, wife of Rep. Tom McClintock, died in December after suffering “adverse effects” related to her consumption of the herbal supplement white mulberry leaf, a Sacramento County coroner’s report found.
The two-page report says the cause of death was “dehydration due to gastroenteritis due to adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion.”
It noted that Lori McClintock “was a 61-year-old female who was found unresponsive in her locked residence by her husband. The day prior she had complaints of an upset stomach. An autopsy with toxicology testing confirmed the cause of death. There were no suspicious circumstances found.
“Based on the circumstances and cause of death, the manner will be listed as an accident.”
The report does not say how McClintock ingested the mulberry leaf, a supplement that can be taken in pills, in tea or an extract.
Her husband had returned home after Congress recessed for the Christmas holidays Dec. 15. He found his wife unresponsive.
The coroner’s report provides no details, other than to say it got a report of McClintock’s death from the Cosumnes Fire Department.
“An inquiry was made into the death. The decedent was removed to this office where an examination was performed by Jason P. Tovar, M.D.,” the report said.
In addition to the cause of death, it said there were no other “significant conditions.”
The white mulberry leaf is usually regarded as safe, packed with what Healthline.com calls “powerful plant compounds” and vitamin C, zinc, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
Kaiser Health News, which first reported on the coroner’s report, said that Lori McClintock’s reaction “seems unusual. No deaths from the white mulberry plant have been reported to poison control officials in the past 10 years, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.”
Tom McClintock’s office did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
The Republican congressmen has served in Congress since 2009, representing a district that stretches along much of the Sierra Nevada and foothills. He is now seeking election in the 5th Congressional District, which captures parts of Modesto and Fresno along with the western Sierra Nevada.
Lori McClintock’s obituary said she was born in Grand Haven, Michigan, and grew up in different areas of the state.
She toured with a group called the Continental Singers for three years and moved with her family to Thousand Oaks in 1977. She attended Moorpark College and earned her real estate license.
She married Tom McClintock on Nov. 7, 1987, and they raised two children, moving from Thousand Oaks to Rocklin and then Elk Grove.
She worked for 17 years at the First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, and in 2015, returned to the real estate industry.
The congressman has said little publicly about his wife’s death. When she died, he did not discuss how she passed away.
The family posted a brief statement on his Facebook page, which read in part, “We are devastated and our world is shattered. Only those who knew her can understand the enormity of the tragedy of her passing for her family and many friends.
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Rep. Tom McClintock’s wife died after ingesting herbal supplement, coroner’s report shows."
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