CBS has reopened its investigation into sexual assault allegations against Matlock actor David Del Rio, according to a TMZ report.
Del Rio, 38, was fired from the CBS legal drama in October after an investigation into sexual assault claims made by his costar, Leah Lewis.
According to TMZ, an investigation into the allegations was reopened just before Thanksgiving. Del Rio has been interviewed again, alongside his attorney, Shawn Holley, said the outlet.
Us Weekly has reached out to Del Rio’s attorney for comment. CBS declined to comment, saying it does not discuss legal matters.
Del Rio abruptly exited the second season of Matlock after a September 26 on-set incident with Lewis, 20, Deadline reported on October 9.
Us confirmed in October that CBS was alerted to the incident and immediately began an internal investigation into the allegations.
Deadline reported that Del Rio was “fired and escorted” off the Paramount lot “the same day the alleged assault was reported” on October 2.
After the news broke a week later, Lewis shared a photo of her and her mother on the Matlock set and wrote, “Mom is here, we’re moving forward in love and strength. I’m in good hands.”
“Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we’re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the takeaway,” she continued.
Del Rio has yet to publicly comment on his firing or the allegations. In November, Us confirmed that he had retained Hollywood attorney Holley, who has previously represented the likes of Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan and Justin Bieber in high-profile cases.
In October, Del Rio’s wife, Katherine, came to her husband’s defense after the news broke. Katherine shared a photo of Lewis via her Instagram Story and wrote, “This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met.” Katherine later deleted the post.
“His wife is standing by him,” friends of Del Rio and his wife exclusively shared with Us in October. “They’re a family and staying together.”
The couple share two daughters, Lilia, 2, and Coco, 11 months.
Del Rio’s character, Billy Martinez, is expected to be written out of Matlock, which recently began production on the second half of season 2.
In a joint interview with Lewis in May, Del Rio teased his story line in season 2, after his character discovered he was going to become a dad at the end of season 1.
“I’m really excited to see how Billy handles the work balance with the personal balance of it all,” he shared at the time.
“I remember reading the finale and hoping at the end that Sarah was going to get away scot-free with this wonderful victory,” Lewis said of where her character, Sarah Franklin, ended up at the end of season 1.
“Of course, the thing happens with Simone and she might need to take accountability,” Lewis said. “To be honest, this is where we really get to see if Sarah can step up to the plate for the thing that she has been begging for, asking for and working so hard for. You want to get treated like a big dog. We’ll start acting like a big dog. I feel like this season we’ll definitely probably get to see her mature a bit more on that aspect. Her professional win is not over yet.”
