29-year-old YouTuber and Twitch streamer Etika’s cause of death has been confirmed. It has been ruled that the popular social media personality’s death was by drowning.
Fans and friends say he had a larger than life personality, and the streamer cultivated a dutiful following of over 800,000 fans. He was known mostly for reviewing and playing Nintendo games, and his favorite was Super Smash Bros.
It was reported he had gone missing on June 19, just after he had posted a troubling video in which he had detailed suicidal thoughts. The video, a cry for help, was pulled after YouTube determined it violated their terms of service.
The 8-minute long video on his secondary channel, TR1Iceman, entitled “I’m Sorry,” showed him apologizing to fans and expressing concerning sentiments about wanting to end his life.
On Tuesday, June 25, his body was pulled out of the East River in Manhattan, but authorities stated they were still investigating the cause of death.
Some of his belongings had been found on a bridge in Manhattan two days before the discovery.
We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased. https://t.co/sedwZZxglw
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 25, 2019
Researchers stated that there is an emerging field in which scholars are studying the effects of Internet fame, coupled with Internet harassment and how it may take a toll on people’s mental health.
Currently, the data isn’t there at the moment to make any concrete conclusions.
Etika’s channel was taken down in October 2018, but fans started a petition to bring it back in a memorial to the late YouTuber. His 800,000-strong channel was removed due to violations of YouTube’s terms of service, evidently for broadcasting porn.
Friends described him as “larger than life,” but felt that some of the recent issues he faced caused his depression.
Esports consultant Rod Breslau commented on his mental state to NBC News, saying, “It does feel like things that happened online were directly responsible for the deterioration of his mental health. Being a huge personality online and having a ton of fans in the gaming community can be very, very stressful … and Etika is one of most experienced people in dealing with communities online.”
At this time, his family has not made a public comment on his death.
If you or anyone you know needs help or is feeling in distress contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline confidentially on 1-800-273-TALK or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org. They provide free and confidential support 24 hours a day.