Emmy Winning Filmmaker Ross McDonnell’s Death Confirmed By Family

Bruce Haring
·1 min read
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The family of Emmy-winning filmmaker Ross McDonnell has confirmed his death after remains were discovered on a beach in New York City.

Police in New York did not confirm or deny initial reports about McDonnell when a dismembered body was found on a beach in Queens. McDonnell has been missing since November 4, when he went for a bike ride in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. His bike was later found locked up at Fort Tilden Beach in Queens. That’s a mile or two away from Breezy Point Beach, where the headless and armless body was found on Friday.

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His family announced his death in a notice on RIP.ie.

“He will be very sadly missed by his loving parents, sister, niece, aunt, uncles, cousins, extended family and his many dear friends, LJ, and also his colleagues in Ireland, USA and around the world,” said the notice.

Earlier friends told police about a distinctive birthmark on the body discovered in Queens, matching one that McDonnell had, while red Adidas swimming trunks were identical to a pair McDonnell regularly wore when he went swimming.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, McDonnell won a 2021 Emmy for cinematography on Showtime’s series, The Trade. In 2022, McDonnell won the Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary Emmy for his work on Matthew Heineman’s Covid doc, The First Wave.

McDonnell lived and worked in the US for several years.

He is survived by his parents Maureen and Nicky, his sister Louise and niece Eva.

Tom Tapp contributed to this report.

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