By Canadian Press

Montreal artist known as Zombie Boy died accidentally, Quebec coroner rules

Oct 28, 2019 | 10:18 AM

MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner has ruled that the death of a tattooed artist and model who starred in a massively popular music video was an accident.

Rick Stephan Genest, known as Zombie Boy, was found dead at the foot of a Montreal apartment building on Aug. 1, 2018.

Coroner Melissa Gagnon says the 32-year-old had gone out on a third-floor balcony alone to smoke a cigarette and went over the balcony.

She said Genest’s blood alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit for driving at the time of his death, but he did not seem to be in a state of psychosis or delirium.

She concluded the fall was likely accidental, and the cause of death was head trauma.

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Genest’s head-to-toe body art propelled him to international fame on fashion runways and a starring role in Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” music video.

In the wake of his death, Lady Gaga and others first described it as a suicide, but Gagnon said Monday there’s not enough evidence to reach that conclusion.

Gaga later deleted a tweet calling Genest’s death a suicide and apologized for speaking “too soon.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2019

The Canadian Press