Actor Kristoff St John, best known for his role on the long-running soap opera The Young and The Restless, has died. He was 52 years old.
A friend of St John's came by his home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, California, to check on him on Sunday and discovered his body. Paramedics who were summoned to the house pronounced him dead at the scene.
As TMZ first reported, police said they have found no evidence of foul play in his death.
According to the LAPD, officers responded to the actor's residence at 2.05am and found a man believed to be St John dead from a possible alcohol overdose.
The TV star's personal attorney, Mark Gregaros, has since confirmed his passing to multiple media outlets and released a brief statement on Twitter that read: 'Few men had the unique strength, courage & sensitivity that @kristoffstjohn1 lived every single minute of every day. He impacted everyone he met and millions who he inspired and in turn admired him. On behalf of @MiaStJohnBoxer & @TheStJohnFamily thank you for all of your love.'
St John had portrayed the fictional character Neil Winters on the CBS drama since 1991, earning him nine Daytime Emmy Award nominations and multiple NAACP Image awards.
The actor and his first wife, boxing champion Mia St John, lost their son, Julian, to suicide in November 2014 while the 24-year-old was undergoing mental health treatment at a hospital in Long Beach.
According to a Huffington Post article, the younger St John, who was a painter, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia aged 18.
Mia and Kristoff St John later filed a civil lawsuit against the psychiatric facility claiming negligence in their son's death. The legal battle ultimately resulted in an out-of-court settlement.
In the winter of 2017, around the time of the third anniversary of his son's death, Kristoff threatened to shoot himself and was placed on a 72-hour suicide watch.
On January 21, St John retweeted a heartbreaking message that read: 'Grieving the loss of a child is a process. It begins on the day your child passes, and ends the day the parent joins them.'
On Monday, Mia St John confirmed her ex-husband's passing in an emotional tweet that cast blame on the hospital where their son had died.
As news of St John's death spread Monday morning, actress Yvette Nicole Brown was among the first celebrities to pay tribute him on social media.
'No!!! This news has truly broken my heart,' the Community star tweeted. 'Kristoff was pure & so kind. I will never forget how wonderful he was to me and everyone else he came into contact with. He was just a good, good man.'
Vivica A Fox, St John's former co-star on The Young and The Restless and the soap opera Generations, also took to social media to honor her friend.
'Kristoff I will soo miss u my brotha! U were a true gentleman 4sho!,' the Empire alum wrote, adding the hashtags #GONETOSOON #RESTINPARADISE my friend! #Blessed #Respect.
Besides Mia, Kristoff leaves behind his second ex-wife, Allana Nadal, and his two surviving daughters, Paris and Lola.
In September 2018, St John proposed to his Russian model girlfriend, 25-year-old Kseniya Mikhaleva. The pair went public with their romance a year ago.
On Monday, the actor's bereaved fiancee wrote an anguished message on her Instagram account pleading for answers.
'How did it happen ??? How ??? Why did you leave so early ???? and left me alone ..... I can?t believe you were everything to me .... you were a loving father, a loving man,.....how.'
The Young and the Restless premiered in 1973 on CBS and is now in its 46th season. It follows the lives of two wealthy families, the Newmans and the Abbotts, in the fictional Genoa City.
On Sunday morning, St John appeared in a light-hearted commercial alongside some of his co-stars promoting Super Bowl LIII airing that evening on CBS.