Convicted killer Michael Alig has died at the age of 54, E! News can confirm.
According to the New York Police Department, law enforcement responded to a 9-1-1 call on West 159th on Dec. 25, where they found Alig unconscious and unresponsive. EMS arrived shortly after, and pronounced Alig dead, per the police report. Although it's unclear what caused his death, NBC New York states he passed away due to a suspected overdose. Per authorities, a cause of death has yet to be determined and the investigation is still ongoing.
In the '90s, Alig, a promoter, co-founded the "Club Kids," a group of partygoers who became notorious in the New York City nightclub scene. He became a tabloid fixture for throwing parties as well as for his theatrical costumes and drug use.
However, in 1997, things took a dark turn when he and friend Robert "Freeze" Riggs pleaded guilty to killing their drug dealer and friend Andre "Angel" Melendez. Riggs and Alig, who claimed they were high on drugs at the time of the murder, reportedly kept Melendez's body in their apartment for a week—and even had gatherings at their home with his body in the tub—before dismembering his body and disposing of it in the Hudson River.
Alig served 17 years in prison for manslaughter and was released in 2014. At the time of his release, the promoter told The Guardian that his sentence helped him face what he had done to his friend.
"It takes going to prison for 17 years and going through extensive therapy, then having to face what you are and how you behaved," Alig explained to the outlet. "Because while you're on drugs, you're not facing anything."
Despite being on drugs, Alig told The Guardian that he took full responsibility for his actions.
"I was responsible because I made the decision to do drugs," he said. "And when I made that decision I wasn't on drugs."
In 1998, the documentary Party Monster: The Shockumentary examined Alig's crime and the NYC culture surrounding it. Alig also inspired the 2003 film, Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin as Alig.
The New York Daily News was first to report to the news.