Annabelle doll handler Dan Rivera's cause of death revealed

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on Sep 4, 2025

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NEW YORK — Renowned paranormal investigator Dan Rivera, who died suddenly while on tour with the notoriously “haunted” Annabelle doll, died of natural causes.

“Mr. Rivera had a known history of cardiac issues, which were consistent with the findings,” Adams County Coroner Francis Dutrow said in a statement to TMZ on Thursday. “It is also confirmed that Annabelle was not present in the room at the time of his passing.”

Rivera was 54 years old.

The announcement of his cause of death comes nearly two months after Rivera was found dead in a Gettysburg hotel room, one day after an event with Annabelle. The event in Pennsylvania was part of his cross-country “Devils on the Run” tour, featuring the “demonically possessed” doll made famous by the “Conjuring” film series.

Rivera, who was the lead investigator the New England Society for Psychic Research, served as the haunted Raggedy Ann’s official handler. Before that, it was housed inside a glass case at the now-closed Occult Museum in Monroe, Conn., which was established by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Last month, comedian Matt Rife and TikTok ghost hunter Elton Castee announced that they had purchased the shuttered museum, making them the legal guardians “of the entire haunted collection including THE ANNABELLE DOLL” for the next five years.