‘Orange Is the New Black’ Creator Jenji Kohan Breaks Silence Over Son’s Death Following Skiing Accident

Orange Is the New Black and Weeds creator Jenji Kohan and her ex-husband, journalist Christopher Noxon, have broken their silence following the death of their 20-year-old son Charlie Noxon in a tragic skiing accident in Utah on New Year’s Eve. In a statement obtained by E! News, the mourning parents said that they are “shattered” following their loss.

“Our hearts are shattered,” Kohan and Noxon’s statement read. “The cliches about moments like this are true, it turns out. The one about life forever changing in a split second, about the fact that we are all bound up in a web of love and loss, about the primacy of community in times of unfathomable tragedy.”

“He was questioning, irreverent, curious and kind. There are no words. But words are what we’ve got right now, along with tears and hugs and massive quantities of baked goods and deli platters,” the statement continued. “Charlie had a beautiful life of study and argument and travel and food and razzing and adventure and sweetness and most of all love. We cannot conceive of life without him.”

According to reports, the 20-year-old was on a trip with his family, including his father and siblings, when he set out on an intermediate trail at Park City Mountain ski resort on Dec. 31. While attempting to navigate a fork in the trail, Charlie, an experienced skier who was wearing a helmet, hit a sign. He was airlifted by medical personnel to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

“Park City Mountain, Park City Mountain Ski Patrol and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family and friends,” Mike Goar, Park City Mountain vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

A Summit County Sheriff’s spokesman said authorities were notified of the incident at 2:38 p.m. local time.

Of Sherman Oaks, California, Charlie was a junior at Columbia University in New York, studying philosophy, economics, and Chinese. In 2008, he appeared in a single episode of Weeds, according to IMDb.

A memorial service for Charlie is scheduled to take place at the Temple Israel of Hollywood on Sunday, Jan. 5.

Kohan and Noxon, the brother of TV writer Marti Noxon, married in 1997 after meeting through an adult kickball game. They divorced in 2018 after nearly 21 years of marriage. Along with Charlie, the couple shares son Oscar and daughter Eliza.