“Orange Is the New Black” creator Jenji Kohan and her ex-husband, journalist Christopher Noxon, have spoken out in the aftermath of their 20-year-old son’s tragic death following a ski accident in Park City, Utah. 

“Our hearts are shattered.  Our dear boy Charlie Noxon died on New Year’s Eve on a ski slope in Park City,” the pair said in a statement released obtained by Page Six. “ 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.” 

They described their son as “questioning, irreverent, curious and kind,” and said of his death: “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.” 

“Charlie had a beautiful life of study and argument and travel and food and razzing and adventure and sweetness and most of all love,” the statement continued. “ We cannot conceive of life without him.” 

Kohan also posted a series of photos of Charlie on her Instagram Friday morning as a heartfelt tribute to her late son. 

“He was my best work.  A list of adjectives don’t do him justice.  There is no justice.  I am the luckiest person who ever lived in that I got to spend so much time and help grow this brilliant, funny, truly kind and thoughtful person-man-boy,” she captioned the post. “ My baby.  My golden child.  My beautiful boy.  I don’t understand what life is now without him in the world.  I don’t understand where he’s gone.  And I’m broken.  How is this real?” 

Charlie had been skiing down an intermediate trail near Canyons Village when he hit a sign while attempting to navigate a fork in the trail.  Park City ski patrol responded to the incident and Charlie was later pronounced dead. 

A student at Columbia University, Charlie had been visiting Park City with his father and two siblings. 

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