Malcolm-Jamal Warner's mother Pamela opened up about the actor's sudden July death to Good Morning America on Tuesday.
Warner -- best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on the 1980s and '90s sitcom The Cosby Show -- drowned while on vacation with his family in Costa Rica. He was 54.
His mom told GMA she let out a scream "from the bottom of my soul" that brought her neighbors running to her door when she heard her child had died.
Since that news broke, she said she was initially in "indescribable pain," but is now "at peace."
She said she will always remember his beautiful smile and the memories of the close relationship they shared.
Pamela said Malcolm-Jamal was an inexperienced swimmer who didn't know what to do when he got caught in an undercurrent in chest-deep waters.
She also denied media reports claiming the actor's 8-year-old daughter was with him in the water, stating she was told the girl was on the beach at the time.
Another man was swimming with Malcolm-Jamal, she said, but he was able to free himself from the treacherous current.
"That's the physical part of it, but the spiritual part of it was, that was his time," Pamela said. "That was the manner in which he was to transition. This is what I believe and what I feel."