On July 11, 2009, Gatti was found dead in a hotel in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil, where he was on holiday with his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their 10-month-old son. He was 37 years old. Gatti was to attend his sister's wedding the same day. Gatti's widow was charged with first degree murder after the Brazilian investigator concluded she changed her story several times about how events transpired both the previous night and that morning. The investigator also concluded that it was impossible for Gatti's body to have landed in the position where it was found, under the kitchen counter, after it fell from being hung from the side of a set of stairs. According to Gatti's wife, a strap from her bag was used by Gatti to hang himself, resulting in part of the strap being stained with blood. Rodrigues could not explain how she spent more than 10 hours in the hotel room without realising Gatti was dead. Former boxing champion Acelino Freitas, who was a close friend of Gatti, stated Gatti and Rodrigues were having marital problems. Rodrigues had already filed for separation before their trip to Brazil, yet convinced her husband to go on the trip under the guise of a last ditch attempt to save the marriage. The Brazilian authorities initially ruled Gatti's death a homicide, but after the coroner's autopsy report was released, they declared it was a suicide, and his widow was set free. On July 31, 2009, it was announced that the Canadian government would be seeking more information from the Brazilian authorities on Gatti's death. Gatti's family confirmed that there would be a second autopsy done in Quebec. On August 1, a pathologist hired by the ex-boxing champ's family said Brazilian authorities overlooked bruises on Gatti's body in the initial autopsy. "There were definite injuries that had not been seen by Brazilian authorities," Baden said. Almost a year later, in March 2010, the circumstances concerning Gatti's death remained unclear.