Eduardo Xol, a fixture of ABC’s reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” has died. He was 58.
The designer and TV personality died Friday at the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner, 10 days after he was assaulted at a Palm Springs residence.
According to Palm Springs police, officers responded to a call at 5:41 a.m. on Sept. 10 from a man who requested help but was unable to provide specific details.
“Upon arriving at the scene, officers heard a male voice inside the residence in apparent distress. After making entry, officers discovered a man suffering from significant injuries consistent with an assault,” police said. “The victim informed officers that he had been stabbed, though he did not identify the assailant.”
Xol was then transported to a hospital and was listed in serious condition but was stable at the time.
Police said that they received a call a few hours later from a man claiming to have been assaulted the previous night. They responded and identified the caller as Cathedral City resident Richard Joseph Gonzales, 34.
“Through further investigation, officers determined that Gonzales was the suspect in the earlier stabbing incident,” police said. Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was booked at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio.
Gonzales remains in custody, according to inmate records, and has been charged with murder. No bail was set and he is due in court Dec. 18.
Representatives for Xol did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ requests for comment.
Xol appeared on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” alongside Ty Pennington for more than seven seasons, 2005-12, and was part of the team that earned the series its two Emmy Awards in 2005 and 2006.
He was also an author and an actor, appearing in the 1998 film “Bravo” and 1990s Spanish-language telenovelas “La Jaula de Oro,” “Sentimientos de Oro” and “Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma.”
In a statement issued to Today.com, Xol’s family said they were heartbroken over the “tragic loss.”
“As his family, we know that his kindness has touched the lives of so many,” the statement said. “We ask for that kindness returned now allowing our privacy to be respected as we process our grief.”
The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Xol’s name to the Lupus Foundation of America “as he spent so much of his life in the service of others.”
On Instagram stories, Pennington wrote Wednesday that he was “devastated to hear about Eduardo’s passing.”
“Truly the most genuine, kind soul,” the “Extreme Makeover” star said.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” ran from 2005-12, had another season in 2020 and will return to ABC and Hulu for 2024-25.
