Sadly, Kristoff St. John, who has played Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless since 1991, passed away on February 3, 2019 at 52. His death has been attributed to an alcohol overdose, official cause of death has been deferred.
His ex-wife, Mia St. John, appeared on today's episode of Dr. Oz. Apparently Kristoff was bipolar. As far as she knew, he had been taking his medication. They spoke daily.
On the outside, Kristoff appeared happy and confident, but according to her, on the inside he was lonely and would often lock himself alone in his house.
Their son Julian committed suicide in 2014 while being treated in a mental health institution. Ever since, Kristoff had blamed himself for his son's death, even though it had been determined the institution was at fault. In 2017, Kristoff was hospitalized after sending Mia a picture of himself holding a gun to his head.
The morning of his death, Kristoff called Mia around 11:00 am crying and was drinking. During that morning's phone call, Kristoff was talking about death. Mia reminded him he was afraid of dying. She became especially concerned when Kristoff said their son Julian was there, and they were going for a walk. She tried to talk him out of it, but he said it was just a walk. Mia was two hours away and didn't think she could get there soon enough, so she immediately started calling friends of his. One of whom went to his house to check on him. When the friend arrived, the door to Kristoff's house was locked, and he couldn't get in. He called Mia and she told him to break the door down, just get in any way he could. He called Kristoff's 2nd ex-wife who came with a key. They found Kristoff face down. They tried to revive him, but it was too late.
Such a sad, sad ending for a guy who brought such joy to soap opera fans.
Kristoff will be buried next to his son Julian at the Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.
After their son's death, Kristoff and Mia founded the El Saber es Poder (Knowledge is Power) Foundation to raise awareness of mental health.
Mia was 30 years sober until Kristoff's death. She has started over in her sobriety path.
UPDATE: Kristoff's autopsy results were released. Official cause of death was hypertrophic heart disease, which is a heart disease where the heart muscle becomes thick, making it difficult to pump blood. Alcohol abuse was a contributing factor.
SPOILER:
A big Y&R farewell is planned. Reports say Neil will die suddenly. Shemar Moore, Victoria Rowell and Mishael Morgan are slated to appear. Shemar will appear in character as Neil's brother Malcolm on April 25 and 26, while Victoria and Mishael will appear as themselves in a tribute on April 29.
His ex-wife, Mia St. John, appeared on today's episode of Dr. Oz. Apparently Kristoff was bipolar. As far as she knew, he had been taking his medication. They spoke daily.
On the outside, Kristoff appeared happy and confident, but according to her, on the inside he was lonely and would often lock himself alone in his house.
Their son Julian committed suicide in 2014 while being treated in a mental health institution. Ever since, Kristoff had blamed himself for his son's death, even though it had been determined the institution was at fault. In 2017, Kristoff was hospitalized after sending Mia a picture of himself holding a gun to his head.
The morning of his death, Kristoff called Mia around 11:00 am crying and was drinking. During that morning's phone call, Kristoff was talking about death. Mia reminded him he was afraid of dying. She became especially concerned when Kristoff said their son Julian was there, and they were going for a walk. She tried to talk him out of it, but he said it was just a walk. Mia was two hours away and didn't think she could get there soon enough, so she immediately started calling friends of his. One of whom went to his house to check on him. When the friend arrived, the door to Kristoff's house was locked, and he couldn't get in. He called Mia and she told him to break the door down, just get in any way he could. He called Kristoff's 2nd ex-wife who came with a key. They found Kristoff face down. They tried to revive him, but it was too late.
Such a sad, sad ending for a guy who brought such joy to soap opera fans.
Kristoff will be buried next to his son Julian at the Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.
After their son's death, Kristoff and Mia founded the El Saber es Poder (Knowledge is Power) Foundation to raise awareness of mental health.
Mia was 30 years sober until Kristoff's death. She has started over in her sobriety path.
UPDATE: Kristoff's autopsy results were released. Official cause of death was hypertrophic heart disease, which is a heart disease where the heart muscle becomes thick, making it difficult to pump blood. Alcohol abuse was a contributing factor.
SPOILER:
A big Y&R farewell is planned. Reports say Neil will die suddenly. Shemar Moore, Victoria Rowell and Mishael Morgan are slated to appear. Shemar will appear in character as Neil's brother Malcolm on April 25 and 26, while Victoria and Mishael will appear as themselves in a tribute on April 29.
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