Eduardo Xol, host of the ABC reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” has died. He was 58 years old.
The composer and TV personality died Friday at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner, 10 days after he was beaten while living in Palm Springs.
According to Palm Springs police, officers responded to a call at 5:41 a.m. on September 10 for a man who asked for help but could not provide specific information.
“When he arrived at the scene, the police heard a man’s voice inside the house, apparently worried. After entering, the police found a man seriously injured when he was beaten,” said the police. “The victim reported to the police that he was stabbed, although he did not identify the suspect.”
Xol was then rushed to the hospital and listed in critical condition but was stable at the time.
Police said they received a call a few hours later from a man claiming he had been assaulted the night before. They answered and identified the caller as Richard Joseph Gonzales, 34, a resident of Cathedral City.
“Through further investigation, the police found that Gonzales was the suspect in the first stabbing incident,” police said. Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was being held at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio.
Gonzales remains in custody, according to inmate records, and has been charged with murder. No bail has been set and he is expected to appear in court on December 18.
Xol representatives did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ requests for comment.
Xol appeared on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” alongside Ty Pennington for over seven seasons, 2005-12, and was part of the team that won the series two Emmy Awards in 2005 and 2006.
He is also a writer and actor, appearing in the 1998 film “Bravo” and the 1990 Spanish-language telenovelas “La Jaula de Oro,” “Sentimientos de Oro” and “Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma.”
In a statement sent to Today.com, Xol’s family said they were devastated by the tragic loss.
“As his family, we know that his kindness touched the lives of many,” the statement said. “We ask that that favor be returned now so that our privacy is respected as we process our grief.”
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Xol’s name to the Lupus Foundation of America “as he spent much of his life serving others.”
On Instagram, Pennington wrote Wednesday that she was “saddened to hear of Eduardo’s passing.”
“She’s a real, 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 in 2024-25.
