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Death of Montreal model and artist known as Zombie Boy ruled accidental
Rick Genest, known as Zombie Boy, fell off a balcony in Montreal’s Plateau–Mont-Royal borough last August, according to a coroner’s report released Monday. There had initially been speculation he had committed suicide. Rick Genest’s body-art attracted fashion designers and he modelled at high-end shows in Paris and Berlin. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press)The death of Montreal model and…
Rick Genest, known as Zombie Boy, fell off a balcony in Montreal's Plateau–Mont-Royal borough last August, according to a coroner's report released Monday. There had initially been speculation he had committed suicide.
The death of Montreal model and artist Rick Genest, also known as Zombie Boy, has been ruled accidental.
Genest fell off a third-floor balcony in Montreal's Plateau–Mont-Royal borough on the afternoon of Aug. 1, 2018, according to a coroner's report released Monday.
The report concluded he died of head trauma resulting from the fall. He was 32.
There had initially been speculation Genest had committed suicide.
According to coroner Mélissa Gagnon, Genest had a history of mental health problems and had sought treatment in the past.
However, according to statements from friends, he was “happy in the weeks preceding his death” and had recently gotten engaged.
“His friends also stated that he was highly motivated by his new artistic projects.”
The report said a fall from the balcony was the most “likely scenario,” given that he was highly intoxicated.
A toxicological analysis found he had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit and he had a habit of sitting on the railing when he went outside for a cigarette, family members told the coroner.
“After analysis, given that the investigation did not reveal a clear and unequivocal intention to end his life on Mr. Genest's part, I cannot state that the death was a suicide,” Gagnon wrote in her report.
Collaboration with Lady Gaga
Genest came to the public's attention after tattooing his body from head to toe, including images of a skull and brain on his head.
He holds a Guinness World Record for most insect tattoos (176) and another for most human bone tattoos (139).
His body art attracted fashion designers and he modelled at high-end shows in Paris and Berlin. In 2011, he appeared in Lady Gaga's music video for the song Born This Way.
Lady Gaga originally referred to Genest's death as a suicide and then later apologized, saying saying she did not mean to draw an “unjust conclusion.”
“The art we made was sacred to me and I was emotional, he was an incredible artist and his art and heart will live on,” she wrote on Twitter last year.
On Monday, Sam Watts, the head of Welcome Hall Mission, a Montreal community organization, recalled Genest's contributions.
“He had a strong commitment to helping us, and our partners, work towards an end to youth homelessness,” he wrote on Twitter.
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