Fans of the soap opera The Young and the Restless are mourning the loss of a series regular. Kristoff St. John, who played the role of Neil Winters on the longtime program, died on Sunday at the age of 52.
An attorney for St. John confirmed his passing in an emailed statement to USA Today on Monday. "Sadly we can confirm," is all the statement read.
Per TMZ, a friend of St. John's stopped by his San Fernando Valley home to check in with him. Upon seeing his unresponsive body, the friend contacted authorities, and emergency technicians arrived. Attempts to revive the actor were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
St. John played the role of Neil since 1991, and for his talents won ten NAACP Image Awards and was nominated for nine Daytime Emmy Awards.
The New York-born performer had a troubled past of mental health struggles and family loss. According to People, St. John's eldest son Julian passed away in 2014 of an apparent suicide at an institution that treats mental illness. Julian was Kristoff's son with ex-wife Mia St. John, a professional boxer.
St. John was newly engaged, USA Today also writes. In September, he announced on his Instagram that he proposed to his girlfriend, model Kseniya Mikhaleva, and captioned the photo "She said yes."
In 2017, St. John reportedly threatened suicide and was hospitalized at a mental institution, according to TMZ.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255. If you prefer text messages, you can hit up the Crisis Text Line by texting TWT to 741-741.
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