Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner have confirmed their preliminary report from October that DJ and producer Erick Morillo died of acute ketamine toxicity.
Morillo died on September 1st, nearly a month after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery in connection with a December, 2019 incident in which he allegedly slept with a woman who was too inebriated to give consent. His first appearance in court would have been three days later. According to the Examiner’s investigations report, officers found “possible drug paraphernalia including multiple syringes” on the scene. Morillo also had MDMA and cocaine in his system.
After word broke of Morillo’s death, tribute posts made by his peers spurred outcry from women in electronic music who argued that the famous DJs had glorified an alleged rapist. Shortly thereafter, a total of ten sexual misconduct allegations involving the late artist were collected and published by Mixmag.
Erick Morillo was perhaps best known for his 1993 hit single, “I Like To Move It,” which he released through Strictly Rhythm under his Reel 2 Real project. He went on to launch his own label, Subliminal Recordings, in 1998. In 2016, he admitted during an interview with Pete Tong at the International Music Summit in Ibiza that his addiction to ketamine in the later years of his career nearly required the amputation of his arm.
Selector encourages anyone with information regarding incidents of sexual misconduct in the electronic music industry to email info@Selector.news with guaranteed confidentiality.
