With the shocking news Sunday night that mixed martial arts trainer Shawn Tompkins had passed away Sunday morning in Canada, thoughts turn to his surviving family and friends.
No cause of death has been identified and an autopsy is scheduled for today.
Tompkins wife, Emilie, who was in Las Vegas at the time of his death, spoke to ESPN.com late Sunday about her late husband.
“Unfortunately I’m in Las Vegas and he’s in Canada,” she said. “I’m hearing through my family and his family that he didn’t wake up this morning. They’re going to do an autopsy tomorrow, so we don’t know any of the actual details. But from what we do know, he passed away in his sleep.”
“Obviously I think he was an amazing man,” Emilie said, “and I hope everyone shares their good stories about him.”
Tompkins often traveled home to Ontario, Canada to help train fighters such as Mark Hominick, Chris Horodecki and his brother-in-law, Sam Stout, who is the brother to Emilie. He was in Canada this time helping Horodecki prepare for a bout in September.