Jean-Baptiste died on August 29, 2015, at
Woodhull Hospital in the
Bedford-Stuyvesant section of
Brooklyn, New York, after falling four stories, from a fire escape, at the residence that his family were temporarily relocated to after a fire at their primary residence. He went out to view a full moon with a friend, and at around 4am Jean-Baptiste lost his balance on his way back into his room. His death was ruled as accidental. The evening before, he had participated in his closing performance of
Les Misérables. He was only 21 years old.
Aftermath A memorial, attended by about 200 friends and family was held, at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park on August 31, 2015. The lights were dimmed at the Les Miserables' Imperial Theatre, Hamilton's Marquee at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and Cleveland's Playhouse Square on September 1, 2015 at 10:15 PM in his honor. The
Les Misérables production released a statement, saying: The entire
Les Miserables family is shocked and devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of Kyle, a remarkable young talent and tremendous person who made magic and history in his Broadway debut. We send our deepest condolences to his family and ask that you respect their privacy in this unimaginably difficult time. Other entertainers tweeted their condolences, including
Kristin Chenoweth,
Debra Messing,
Josh Groban,
Jesse Tyler Ferguson,
Ansel Elgort, and
Lin-Manuel Miranda. His alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University, posted on Facebook that they were "incredibly saddened by the loss" of one of their own. ==References==