Following a video in which he apologized to fans, YouTube star Desmond “Etika” Amofah went missing for several days. It was then learned on Tuesday, June 25th that the content creator was deceased. This was after the New York Police Department responded to a call of a body floating in the water near the South Street Seaport in the 1st Precinct. When EMS arrived, they pronounced Amofah deceased. A day has passed since the tragic news broke, but the medical examiner has concluded that the YouTuber’s death was the result of suicide by drowning.
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As reported by E! News, the medical examiner concluded on Wednesday morning that Amofah’s death was a suicide. As many of you likely know by now, the YouTuber had been missing since last Wednesday after posting a video to his channel in which he discussed his struggles with mental illness. Shortly after that, some of his personal belongings were found on the Manhattan Bridge, but his condition was unknown at the time.
In the video, which has since been deleted from his accounts, Amofah noted how he had never been suicidal before. “You know, I wasn’t suicidal before. I really wasn’t,” he said. “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 always push it too far.”
Per a statement to Kotaku from the NYPD, Amofah’s body was actually discovered on Monday. “At approximately 18:18 hours [yesterday], police responded to a 9-11 call with a person floating in the water in the vicinity of the South Street Seaport in the confines of the 1st Precinct,” the NYPD told Kotaku. “Upon arrival, officers discovered an unresponsive, unidentified male at that location. The NYPD harbor removed the male to Pier 16, where EMS pronounced him deceased. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call 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. A list of international suicide hotlines can be found right here.
