Homaro Cantu, a successful celebrity chef, was found dead in a Chicago building on Tuesday afternoon, and authorities are currently investigating the death of the 38-year-old.

Homaro Cantu Dies In Apparent Suicide

Cantu was reportedly found dead of hanging around 1 p.m. at a Chicago building where the chef had planned on opening a brewery. According to police sources, his death is currently being investigated as a suicide, but that report has yet to be confirmed.

Leading up to his death, Cantu faced a few legal issues. In March, Cantu was sued by an investor who claimed to have invested in Cantu’s restaurants Moto and iNG – iNG is no longer open – and been denied profits. Investor Alexander Espalin alleged that Cantu used Moto business accounts for personal reasons, and failed to pay Espalin profits stemming from his $100,000 investment in iNG and 15% ownership of Moto.

Cantu’s wife, Katie McGowan, thanked fans for their support on Facebook and used the opportunity to deny the allegations leveled against her husband in an effort to lessen reports speculating Cantu’s legal troubles could have contributed to his death.

“Please don’t believe all the garbage in the news. It was just another case of someone trying to make a buck off of him or take credit for his ideas. If you want his legacy to live on, go try his food, experience his visions. That’s all he wanted,” McGowan wrote.

McGowan and Cantu recently celebrated their 12th anniversary.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.