“Extreme Makeover” Star Eduardo Xol Stabbed to Death
A California man has been arrested and charged with the murder of the popular gay designer from "Extreme Makeover."
A California man has been arrested and charged with murder for allegedly stabbing Eduardo Xol, the gay designer on the ABC reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
The 58-year-old Xol died last week at the Desert Regional Medical Center, ten days after being assaulted at his home in Palm Springs, California.
According to Palm Springs police, officers responded to a call at 5:41 a.m. on September 10 from a man requesting help but unable to provide specific details.
“Upon arriving at the scene, officers heard a male voice inside the residence in apparent distress,” the police department said in a statement posted to Facebook. “After making entry, officers discovered a man suffering from significant injuries consistent with an assault. The victim informed officers that he had been stabbed, though he did not identify the assailant.”
Xol was transported to a hospital, where he was listed in serious condition but was considered stable at the time.
Less than four hours later, at 9:13 a.m., Palm Springs Police Dispatch received a call from a male who claimed to have been assaulted the previous night.
Officers responded and identified the caller as Richard Joseph Gonzales, 34, of Cathedral City, California. Upon further investigation, officers realized that Gonzales had been involved in the earlier stabbing incident.
Police arrested Gonzales and charged him with attempted murder. However, that charge was upped to murder after Xol died in the hospital on September 20.
Police told People magazine that Xol and Gonzales were “associates,” though it remains unclear what the nature of their relationship was.
Gonzales is currently being held without bail at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, California. He is scheduled to appear in court at the Indio Larson Justice Center on December 18.
Xol appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition alongside Ty Pennington for seven seasons between 2005 and 2012, and was part of the team that earned the series two Emmy Awards in 2005 and 2006. He was also an author and actor, having appeared in Spanish-language telenovelas and the 1998 film Bravo. He wrote a home decor column, “Casa con Eduardo Xol,” for the magazine People En Español.
Xol’s family members issued a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying 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.”
In lieu of flowers, the family asked that 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.”
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