‘NCIS’ Star Pauley Perrette Victim Of Death Hoax; Actress Responds To Rumors

“NCIS” fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Actress Pauley Perrette is alive and well after becoming the latest victim of an internet death hoax.

On Facebook over the weekend, a link was shared widely with a claim that Perrette, who plays forensic scientist Abby on the CBS crime drama, was dead at the age of 47. The link was mostly labeled as “Breaking News,” but brought readers to a page on what appeared to be a fraudulent/scam website. Despite the link, the headline claiming Perrette was dead still went viral.

Perrette employed Twitter Monday morning to combat the rumor that she had died, and even had a little fun with the speculation.

The death hoax came almost six months after the actress nearly did die. In November, Perrette was attacked by a “very psychotic homeless man” outside her home Hollywood, California.

“He grabbed me so forcefully, pinned my arm, punched me in the nose, forehead repeatedly telling me he was going to kill me,” Perrette wrote in an emotional tweet after the incident. “Then he showed me how he was going to kill me. He kept repeating his name: “William ___ ___, don’t forget that! I’m going to kill you.”

Perrette was fortunate enough to survive the attack, but admitted she was “shaken and traumatized.” Her attacker, David Merck, was arrested soon after the incident and charged with one felony count of making a criminal threat and one felony count of false imprisonment by violence.