Kristoff St. John has died at the age of 52.
The Young and the Restless star was found dead at his San Fernando Valley home on Sunday (February 3), TMZ reports.
Law enforcement sources told the gossip site that one of Kristoff's friends went to check on him and found his body. While police and paramedics were called to the home, the actor was pronounced dead on the scene. There was reportedly no sign of foul play, however, a source claimed alcohol may have been involved.
On Monday (February 4), an insider close to Kristoff told TMZ "the actor had checked himself into UCLA Medical Center in January for depression issues and had just been released within the last few days." Adding his issues with depression were linked, in part, to his son's 2014 suicide.
Kristoff's 24-year-old son, Julian St. John, died by suicide while getting treatment at a mental health facility in Long Beach, California in November 2014. Following his death, the 52-year-old actor and his ex wife, Mia St. John, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the health facility, claiming "widespread pervasive" negligence by its staff. Three years later — one month before the anniversary of Julian's death — Julian threatened to take his own life and was placed under a 72-hour hold for psychiatric evaluation.
"No parent should ever have to bury their child, and for those who do, it is a nightmare that haunts you forever. The death of our beloved son Julian has taken a toll on both of us,” Mia said in a statement at the time. “He is an actor and while he may appear whole on the outside, his heart is broken. As a society, we need to start taking mental health seriously and realize that no one is immune."
Kristoff's ex-wife reacted to his death on Sunday with an emotional post, that has since been deleted, on social media. “THAT HOSPITAL KILLED OUR SON @TheArtofJulian THEN MY HUSBAND @kristoffstjohn1,” she wrote, according to TMZ. “THATS WHAT HAPPENED! THEY KILLED MY FAMILY.”
The 52-year-old actor, who played Neil Winters on Y&R since 1991, was engaged to Russian model Kseniya Mikhaleva. The two announced their engagement just five months ago. Following news of Kristoff's death, Kseniya wrote a heartbreaking message on social media. "How did it happen ??? How ??? Why did you leave so early ???? and left me alone," she captioned a photo of Kristoff kissing her forehead. "I can’t believe 💔💔💔💔 you were everything to me .... you were a loving father, a loving man,.....how 😢😢😢😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔 love??we should doing a lot of things in future."
Following their son's death, Kristoff and Mia founded the El Saber es Poder (Knowledge is Power) Foundation to battle mental illness.
Photo: Getty Images