*The mother of Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst is speaking out about losing a child to suicide following the death of Stephen “tWitch” Boss, who reportedly passed away after taking his own life Dec. 13. He was age 40.
Kryst committed suicide in January at the age of 30. Her mother, April Simpkins spoke to Today about her daughter’s passing amid the shocking news of tWitch’s death.
“His passing … put me on the outside looking in,” said Simpkins. “I saw a news flash on my computer and that’s how I learned of his passing — and I imagine for some, that’s how they learned of Cheslie’s passing — and I immediately went into disbelief and wanting to understand what had happened, and then it just triggered those same feelings for me, and my heart ached for him.”
She added, “It’s easy to make this assumption that they were this person 24/7 when they were not. One of the things that was very difficult for me to deal with was not just that Cheslie passed, but … dealing with your grief while simultaneously having so many people who did not know her personally … want to speak on her.”
READ MORE: Mother of Cheslie Kryst Says Ex-Miss USA Suffered With Depression
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Kryst’s father previously claimed that family dysfunction most likely led to the beauty queen’s suicide.
We previously reported that Kryst was not only the 2019 Miss USA pageant winner but a lawyer as well. She jumped from the 60-story Orion building at 350 W. 42nd St. around 7:15 am NYC time on Jan. 30, and was found dead in the street below, the NY Post reports.
Cheslie’s father, Rodney Kryst, 62, told the New York Post that his daughter suffered from depression.
“She was pure as can be, she didn’t take any kind of drugs or prescription medication,” Rodney Kryst told The Post. “She never had any kind of substance abuse problem.”
He added, “I think it had a lot to do with family dysfunction, but it will be awhile before we can talk more. She was sad.”
Simpkins confirmed her daughter’s suicide on social media and said, “While it may be hard to believe, it’s true. Cheslie led both a public and a private life. In her private life, she was dealing with high-functioning depression which she hid from everyone – including me, her closest confidant – until very shortly before her death.”
Simpkins shared on Instagram the last picture she and her daughter took together before Kryst passed away.
“This is the last picture Cheslie and I took together in Israel,” she captioned the image. “We packed our bags and went for a final stroll on the boardwalk in Eilat. We grabbed some ice cream from a local shop and sat on the pier looking at the Red Sea. We talked about how beautiful it was there and that we wanted to come back to visit Jerusalem. I’ll make that trip one day carrying her in my heart.”
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