(UPDATE: 12/14/2022 AT 6:49 P.M. ET): Stephen “tWitch” Boss died via a “gunshot wound to the head”, the coroner’s report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner obtained by Page Six confirms. The report also ruled his death a suicide and added that there was no suspected foul play. The case is closed as of Wednesday evening, Dec. 14.
(ORIGINAL STORY): “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen [“tWitch” Boss] has left us,” Allison Holker, the wife of the dancer and Ellen DeGeneres Show DJ, said in a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday (Dec. 14). Stephen, 40, passed away the night before, and Allison, 34, paid tribute to her love. “Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends, and community above all else, and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.”
“To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt,” she continued in her statement. “I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory. We ask for privacy during this difficult time for myself and especially for our three children. Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you.”
TMZ was the first to report the news of Stephen Boss’s death. The publication reported that Allison went to the Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday (Dec. 13) because her husband had left their home without his car – something that “was not like him at all,” per TMZ. Soon after, police responded to a call over an incident at a Los Angeles hotel, where Stephen was reportedly found. Sergeant Borihana told HollywoodLife that police responded to the ambulance call on Tuesday. “The decedent’s death was ruled a suicide and no foul play was involved. The body was handed over to the LA County Coroner,” they said.
Like Stephen, Allison competed in So You Think You Can Dance. The couple married in 2013. Together, they welcomed two children into the world – son Maddox (b. 2016) and daughter Zaia (b. 2019). Stephen also adopted Allison’s daughter, Weslie, from a prior marriage.
Boss first rose to fame on The Wade Robson Report, Star Search, and So You Think You Can Dance (where he ended season 4 as a runner-up before returning to the series as an All-Star). In 2014, he joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show as a guest DJ before joining the cast as a full-time member of the show.
“We’ve employed thousands and thousands and thousands of people, changed a lot of lives, but that’s something to do that same thing every single day,” Boss told E! News in 2022 about his time on the show and its final season. “And I’m proud of [Ellen DeGeneres] that she’s kind of put an earmark on the closing of a saga to begin her next chapter. Because that’s huge and monumental in itself.”
Following his death, Ellen also released a statement saying she’s “heartbroken”.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.