**UPDATE**: In 2015,Young and the Restless star Kristoff St. John filed a lawsuit against the mental health facility where his 24 year-old son Julian St. John tragically committed suicide in November 2014.
In 2016, Kristoff and Julian’s mother Mia sat down with both Entertainment Tonight and the T.D. Jakes Show to discuss their son’s death and the impending lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that staff members of the La Casa Psychiatric Health Facility skipped the required mandatory check-ins and observations of Julian, who was on suicide watch. The staff also reportedly falsified documents in order to cover up the neglect. Now, in October 2017, Kristoff sent a picture of himself with a gun to his head threatening to kill himself and Mia is the one who called the police.
Mia spoke on the circumstances surrounding Julian’s death:
“What we do know is he attempted suicide two and a half weeks prior to when he actually completed it and he was supposed to be on suicide watch. He was left with the very same instrument that he used to attempt suicide.”
"The county says it pays Telecare $17 million per year to contract 190 beds at La Casa. We had hoped that the facility would help him withdraw from meth and get back on his meds, and that within the year, Julian would come home – alive. But we made a fatal mistake placing our son in the care of La Casa, one of many mental health facilities in this country that contracts with state and local governments. Like many before him, Julian didn’t make it out alive. La Casa staff told us that our son, because of his suicidal behavior, would be checked every 15 minutes. Yet, a little more than six weeks after he arrived, Julian escaped from the facility by climbing the fence. When I asked management and several of the employees of La Casa how my son, who was supposed to be checked on regularly, could escape, they responded, seemingly unconcerned, “it happens.” Julian was missing for several hours before police, whom La Casa had notified, found him at a bus stop.
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But in the days after he returned to the facility, Julian managed to smoke in the bathroom and even consume alcohol, all on the watch of La Casa’s staff. Then, five days after he escaped, Julian attempted suicide using a plastic bag. His roommate discovered him and alerted the staff. I was terrified to leave Julian at La Casa, but staffers vehemently assured me that plastic bags would be banned from the section of the facility where he lived, and Julian would never be left alone. But after about two weeks, he was taken off 24-hour watch and put back on 15-minute precautionary watch. Three days later, my son was found face down in the bathroom with a plastic bag over his head – the same plastic bags that were supposedly removed. Unfortunately, Julian’s story isn’t unique. La Casa employees, who went on strike in 2013 because of the dangerous conditions, said patients regularly escape from the facility."
The day Julian committed suicide, video surveillance showed that not only was his door closed (which isn’t allowed for people on suicide watch) but that none of the staff had checked on Julian for almost an hour.
Kristoff feels the facility was negligent in its supervision of his son -- and if the staff had "acted with even the slighted regard for Julian's safety, he would still be alive today."
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News of Julian St. John’s son of The Young & the Restless star Kristoff St. John (Neil Winters) passing came to light from a posting by his mother, Mia, on Saturday, November 29, 2014. Julian St. John died on Sunday, November 23 from an apparent suicide.
“And so the legend continues…once upon a time,” wrote Kristoff on his Twitter and Facebook pages with a link to a post on the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot website featuring Julian’s art.
If you suspect someone may be suicidal, don't think it will just "fix itself". Here are four signs to tell if your loved one may be contemplating suicide:
1. Talking About Suicide
If someone you know is talking about harming himself or says that he doesn't want to live, take it seriously.
He or she may be at risk for a suicide attempt, particularly if they feel trapped or hopeless and is withdrawing from friends and family.
2. Feelings of Guilt
Madelyn Gould, PhD, a professor of clinical epidemiology in psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City, says that excessive and inappropriate feelings of guilt—a common symptom of depression and anxiety—are something to be on the lookout for as well.
"You start to feel guilty about things—letting people down—and someone else who's listening would say, 'But you're not,'" says Gould. "It's just this very unrealistic guilt."
READ: Black Suicide: The Truth Behind The Stigma
3. Drug Use and Excessive Alcohol Use
Some agitated and anxious people turn to drugs and alcohol for relief—potential warning signs for suicide. You might not be an alcoholic or a drug abuser, but if you take things to make yourself feel better or to numb you, that makes you more vulnerable because it impairs your judgment and makes your thinking not as clear.
Substance use can also contribute to impulsivity. Studies have shown that up to 80% of all suicide attempts are done on the spur of the moment, with very little planning.
4. Buying a Firearm
One of the loudest and clearest warning signs is buying a gun. Access to a firearm in the home significantly increases the risk of a suicide—by up to 10 times, according to a 2008 article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Guns account for less than 10% of all suicide attempts, but those involving guns are far more likely to be fatal.
Two to one, men complete suicide more often than women. It's largely because of the method they choose, not because of the intent that they have. Men tend to use firearms; women tend to take overdoses.
Whatever the situation, don't leave that person alone. Let them know you're going to get help and/or call 1-800-273-TALK.
Visit the BlackDoctor.org Mental Health center for more articles.
