Stephen 'Twitch' Boss' autopsy report sheds new light on details of his death

Nearly six months since the death of Stephen “Twitch” Boss, an autopsy report has provided new details about the beloved dancer’s unexpected death.

Boss, the DJ and executive producer on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show,” died by suicide on Dec. 13 last year, shocking his fans, friends and family.

“No one had any inkling that he was low. He didn’t want people to know,” his wife, Allison Holker Boss, told People in May. “He just wanted to be everyone’s Superman and protector.”

Boss, who originally rose to fame when he competed on the reality-dance competition show “So You Think You Can Dance,” died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Oak Tree Inn motel in Encino, according to the L.A. County coroner report obtained by The Times.

A new autopsy report obtained by The Times clears up some unanswered questions, confirming that there were no drugs or alcohol found in the dancer's system at the time of his death.

The report also stated that per his family, Boss had no history of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts. His wife had filed a missing persons report with the Los Angeles Police Department the day before Boss was found dead by the motel housekeeper, 10 minutes after checkout time.

"It's been really hard because I can't understand what was happening in that moment [he died]," said Holker Boss.

Boss left a note before he died, and the contents alluded to “past challenges” and led investigators to conclude Boss’ death was a suicide, which the autopsy report has confirmed. He did not, however, have a will in place. In February, Holker Boss filed a petition in Los Angeles for his half of their shared estate.

Ellen DeGeneres paid tribute to her DJ after the news broke.

“I’m heartbroken,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram photo of her and Boss embracing on the “Ellen” set. “tWitch was pure love and light. He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him. Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children — Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia.”

In January, weeks after his death, the Boss family laid Twitch to rest during an intimate funeral service at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.