UPDATE: (6/26/19, 11:15 AM ET) The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) confirms to HollywoodLife that Desmond D. Amofah (Etika)’s cause of death was drowning in the manner of suicide. He was discovered in the East River near the South Street Seaport.
After the tragic news of famed Youtuber Etika’s passing broke on June 25, both fans and celebs alike are mourning the late star. The man, whose real name is Desmond Amofah, was confirmed deceased in New York City by the NYPD. “We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased,” the NYPD tweeted as a new update on its initial tweet, that informed the public he had been missing since June 19. The NYPD, who provided a photo of Etika, told HollywoodLife: “Pursuant to ongoing investigation the below individual has been located and is deceased.” The NYPD also confirmed to HL that Etika’s body was pulled out of the East River in Manhattan. Etika was just 29-years-old at the time of his passing. For those who aren’t familiar, here’s everything to know about the late YouTube star.
1. He had a large online following of dedicated fans. While Etika’s Twitch account has been deleted, his other pages including Twitter and Instagram, remain visible. He has a whopping 321,000 followers on Twitter and 275,000 on Instagram.
2. He hailed from Brooklyn, New York. The star, who also goes by Desmond Amofah, was best known for creating the popular channel, EWNetwork. He rose to fame thanks to his Nintendo-centric gaming content.
3. Etika is survived by both his parents, according to Heavy. He was never married and did not have any children.
4. He displayed erratic behavior leading up to his death. Fans were well aware that Etika had been plagued by mental health issues, and his last video was one of his most troubled yet. Uploaded at midnight on the evening of the June 19, the clip, entitled “I’m sorry,” showed Etika walking the streets of New York. “I hope that my story maybe helps to make YouTube a better place in the future where people know boundaries and limits and how far things should go,” he could be heard saying in the video. “You know I wasn’t suicidal before — I really wasn’t. But one thing I didn’t realize was that the walls were closing around me so fast. I really had no intention of killing myself but I’d always push it too far,” he added. “I guess I am mentally ill.”
5. He was previously romantically linked to fellow YouTuber Alice Pika. His ex once gave fans an update on his mental health. In May of 2019, she shared news of his hospitalization with fans on Twitter. “Quick Etika update: A doctor just called me. He has NOT been arrested, he’s not going to jail. He’s at the mental ward of a hospital again, not saying where. I gave her as much information as I could that would make sure he STAYS in there for longer than a day!!! ” she wrote at the time.