Kristoff St. Johnwas always open about theeffect his son’s suicide had on him.
Julian, an artist, was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18 and had endured bouts of severe depression since he was a child.
In a 2013Soap Opera Digestinterview, St. John discussed Julian’s struggles.
“My son, Julian, has been suffering from a drug addiction for some years now and has also been diagnosed schizophrenic. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take his medication, which disallows a daily health routine,” he said. “Quite often, people who suffer from bipolar disorder self-medicate because they refused to take their pharmaceutical drugs, so we have had out issues. Poor boy felt that the local park was more of a home than his mother’s home or mine, based on the relationship he has with a certain female, and I can’t condone that relationship. I never thought my son would be the kid at the gas station with the gas can trying to get a couple of dollars out of somebody for a bogus story, and this is where Julian is.”
Julian St. John/Facebook; Robert Voets/CBS/Getty
Still, the actor was proud of Julian’s work as an artist.
In 2017, St. John and and ex-wife Mia opened up about losing their son.
“That call was the worst call I’ve ever had in my life,” St. John toldEntertainment Tonightat the time. “I knew that Julian had died.”
After Julian’s death, Kristoff and Mia filed awrongful death lawsuitagainst the La Casa Psychiatric Health Facility, alleging that nurses and staff members regularly skipped mandatory check-ins of Julian, who was supposed to be on suicide watch and checked on every 15 minutes. They also claimed the facility falsified documents in order to cover up their neglect.
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty
The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2017.
The actor said he remained outraged with the lack of care he believed his son received at the facility where he died.
“I’m still angry,” Kristoff said when asked what it was like watching the footage that captured Julian’s final moments in the facility. “I watched it the first time, I’ll never watch it again. It’s not something I want to see.”
And just two weeks before Kristoff was found dead, he wasstill mourning the lossof his son.
The soap operastar was last active on Twitter on Jan. 21, when he retweeted someone’s post about losing a child that reads, “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.”
“Never a truer word was spoke,” St. John tweeted. “Thanks for posting this.”
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed to PEOPLE on Monday that St. John was found dead at a home in Woodland Hills on Sunday. He was pronounced deceased at 4:02 p.m.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a death investigation took place at around 2:05 p.m. for a possible alcohol overdose at the 2300 block of Morea Way.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
