Kristoff St. John Of ‘Young And Restless’ Files Suit Over Son’s Suicide, Opens Up About Julian’s Death


The Young and the Restless star Kristoff St. John is opening up about the suicide of his son, Julian, that happened late last year. Kristoff and his ex-wife, Mia, have filed a lawsuit against the facility where Julian was at the time of his death, alleging that they were negligent in his care. Kristoff and Mia talked to Entertainment Tonight about the heartbreaking situation.

Julian St. John, 24, had been struggling with schizophrenia for a number of years and at the time of his death, he was in a mental health facility. Young and Restless fans were heartbroken on Kristoff’s behalf when he revealed the news of his son’s death via Facebook.

St. John says that the phone call he got from Mia telling him of his son’s death was the worst call he’s ever received, and as soon as he heard Mia screaming, he knew what had happened. The actor’s interview is heartbreaking, as he is naturally extremely emotional about recounting the experience of learning of Julian’s death.

Kristoff and Mia say that Julian’s mental health struggles had gotten worse and worse over the past three years. They struggled to find a facility that could help him, and he was eventually put into La Casa Psychiatric Health Facility in Long Beach, California. The St. Johns explain that Mia took Julian out of La Casa once against medical advice, but then Julian was taken back to the facility.

Less than three weeks before Julian’s suicide, Kristoff and Mia say that he attempted suicide. The facility was supposed to have Julian on a suicide watch, but Mia alleges that Julian was left unattended with the same tool he eventually used to take his life. Reports indicate that Julian was found in a bathroom with a plastic bag over his head.

Mia says that surveillance indicates that Julian was on the phone with Mia at one point, and less than an hour later, Julian was discovered dead. The surveillance video is said to indicate that nobody checked on Julian in that time between the phone call and the time he was found dead, despite the fact that he was supposed to be checked on every 15 minutes.

Kristoff says that they have filed the lawsuit to “shed light on the inefficiency and incompetency that happens in mental hospitals nationwide.” He says that the lawsuit should bring justice to millions across the country who need it and that people should never die in a hospital due to a lack of care.

TMZ adds that in the lawsuit, Kristoff St. John says that they have evidence that the staff at La Casa were falsifying records regarding their welfare checks on Julian. The suit alleges that though Julian was found dead at 1:44 p.m. on that day last November, the logs already reflected six welfare checks taking place between 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.

St. John feels that if the La Casa staff had “acted with even the slightest regard for Julian’s safety, he would still be alive today.” Young and Restless fans have been very supportive of Kristoff St. John and his family since word of Julian’s death, and everybody hopes that they are indeed able to find a sense of peace and justice in the wake of the young man’s suicide.

[Image via People]

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