DJ and music producer Erick Morillo, who popularized house music, was found dead in Miami Beach, according to authorities. He was 49.
On Monday, officers were called to Morillo’s residence, where he was found dead. A cause of death had not yet been determined.
The Miami Beach department said, “There were no apparent signs of foul play. The cause of death will be determined by the Miami Dade Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Morillo was accused of sexual battery in an alleged attack in December. The Miami Beach police arrested him last month. He was due to appear in court Friday, according to the police.
Morillo, however, had denied the allegations.
On August 6, Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said, “This is a very unfortunate incident where our detectives worked diligently to provide some sort of closure for the victim.”
Morillo was best known for his international work in house music for nearly 30 years. House music is the post-disco sound invented in Chicago in the 1980s.
Born on March 26, 1971, Columbia, Morillo was a three-time winner of DJ Awards for “Best House DJ” in 1998, 2001, and 2003, and a three-time winner of “Best International DJ” in 2002, 2006, and 2009, receiving a total of 15 nominations between 1998 and 2010.
His sunrise performances in Ibiza made him a public figure of the party lifestyle.
In an interview with BBC Radio One’s Tong in 2016, Morillo admitted he had walked the walk, revealing his alcohol and drug use culminated with an addiction to ketamine.
The Columbian DJ never seemed to lose his credibility with dance music puritans. He even used to perform back-to-back with Danny Tenaglia, one of house music’s most revered DJs.
LA radio veteran “Swedish” Egil Aalvik said, “He would be one that other DJs would want to go and check out. He did not just play a record into the next record. He would layer sounds and build-up, drop it up, and built it again.”
He said Morillo was a music tastemaker who led dance music fans to new artists. Aalvik added, “People looked up to him for new remixes, dubs, vocal records. He managed and helped promote different DJs. He did all those things that many DJs wish they could do one or two of those things.”
