Pamela Warner, the mother of late actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, was emotional as she spoke about her son's drowning during the Tuesday (Sept. 16) episode of Good Morning America.
Warner recalled to Robin Roberts that she screamed upon receiving the tragic news on July 20. The actor died from causes of asphyxiation by submersion from drowning in Costa Rica, where he was on a trip with his wife, Tenisha Warner, and their 8-year-old daughter.
"It was from the bottom of my soul," Pamela Warner said about her guttural reaction to the news. "And what came up and what came out was huge. It was an undescribable pain that resonated throughout my body."
She went on to explain that the family was in Costa Rica for a homeschooling program for the actor's daughter and debunked rumors that he was attempting to rescue his child before his death.
"They were in the water, I think maybe chest deep even at that, maybe waist deep," she explained. "There was an undertow, and my son was not an experienced swimmer. He did not know how to deal with an undertow."
She added that another man who was at the scene was an experienced swimmer and got himself to safety while Warner was unable to.
"That's the physical part of it, but the spiritual part of it was that was his time," she said. "That was his time, and that was the manner in which he was to transition. And this is what I believe and what I feel."
The talent manager said that she was "grateful" to be the actor's mother and that she wasn't in conflict with her son before he died passing.
"I think more than anything, I'm at peace with everything that happened," she said. "There was nothing left on the table. There was no shoulda, coulda woulda. I wish I had have said this. I wish I had have done this. I don't have that. I feel that our journey together as mother and son was complete."
She added that her granddaughter and Warner's widow are "in deep grief" after The Cosby Show star died, especially as the 8-year-old witnessed rescuers attempts to resuscitate him.
Pamela Warner invited his fans to contributed to her son's foundation and to "be better," as the actor and musician was "working toward" self-improvement.
She last spoke on her son's death in a statement posted to Instagram last month.
"Needless to say our hearts are heavy with the loss of Malcom," she wrote. "He was a kind, loving man with a huge heart for humanity. He wanted all to be aware of their inner strength and that they could succeed, accomplish and transform. This was his latest mission and work, transformation, in order for you to be fully present in your life."