MasterChef Runner-Up Sadly Committed Suicide After Mental Health Struggles
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Joshua Marks was a contestant on the third season of Fox’s MasterChef. He ranked as the Runner Up after losing to winner Christine Ha, the first-ever blind contestant. Josh managed to beat out more than 30,000 contestants which some of them highly trained chef during the show.
MasterChef’s Josh Marks Commits Suicide
Marks’ mother, Paulette Mitchell, found him dead in an alley near Chicago’s south side on a Friday evening after a neighbor called to say he was walking around with a gun as told by his lawyer, Lisa Butler.
The MasterChef contestant, Josh Marks cause of death was gunshot wounds as per his autopsy. He was in “the battle of his life fighting mental illness” when he killed himself, his family said in a press statement.
Marks was 7 feet 2 inches tall and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a year before his death. He was also diagnosed with Schizophrenia and his is mother believes that it was not a suicide attempt but rather a cry for help.
Previously, Josh had been taken to Chicago-area medical facility after being arrested. He was charged with aggravated battery against a police officer. He told the police that he had been possessed by “MasterChef” judge Gordon Ramsay, who had turned him into God, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Before appearing on the show, Josh Marks told the blog Eat Jackson what he thought about Gordon Ramsay as ‘He has that intensity that I like… He doesn’t intimidate me; he motivates me harder… His personality is milder on [MasterChef] than on Hell’s Kitchen; but he can get intense.’
Gordon Ramsay’s Send His Condolences
Gordon Ramsay tweeted “Just heard the devastating news about Josh Marks,” Ramsay wrote. “My thoughts are with his family & friends at this tragic time.”
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Marks also worked with the Make A Sound Project, a non-profit group that seeks to use music to raise awareness of issues related to suicide. His family is now hoping to help others suffering from mental illness by talking about what happened to Marks and spreading the word.
