Extreme Makeover: Home Edition star Eduardo Xol has died more than a week after being stabbed in Palm Springs.
The Palm Springs Police Department confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that they were notified that the 58-year-old actor and singer had succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 20. They added that a suspect, Richard Joseph Gonzales, 34, is already in custody and has been charged with murder.
Officers were called to a Palm Springs residence at around 5:41 a.m. on Sept. 10 where they discovered Xol suffering from “significant injuries consistent with an assault,” police said. Xol reportedly told officers that he had been stabbed, but did not name his attacker before being transported to a local hospital in “serious but stable condition.”
According to police, Palm Springs Police Dispatch later received a call from Gonzalez who claimed that he’d been assaulted the night before. After an investigation, police claim they determined the 34-year-old was the suspect in Xol’s stabbing and arrested him on attempted murder charges, which have since been upped to murder charges in the wake of the actor’s death.
Gonzalez was booked at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, Calif., and is currently being held without bail. His court date is set for Dec. 18.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Xol is best known to U.S. audiences for starring on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition alongside host, Ty Pennington. However, he also had a thriving career as an actor and singer in Latin America, starring in popular syndicated telenovelas like Acapulco, Cuerpo Y Alma and Sentimientos Ajenos and releasing a solo album, titled La Pasión, in 1993. He also wrote a book, Home Sense: Simple Solutions to Enhance Where and How You Live, in 2007.
“We are heartbroken at the tragic loss of our beloved Eduardo Xol,” the actor’s family said in a statement provided to EW. “As his family, we know that his kindness has touched the lives of so many. We ask for that kindness returned now allowing our privacy to be respected as we process our grief.”
They continued, “In lieu of flowers we ask that donations be made in Eduardo’s name to the Lupus Foundation of America as he spent so much of his life in the service of others.”
Pennington also posted a photo of himself and Xol on his Instagram Story on Wednesday, writing, “Devastated to hear about Eduardo’s passing. Truly the most genuine, kind soul.”
