Jumpers -A Suicide Thread

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June 2009
- Distraught Parents Leap to Death With Son's Body
  
  Times (UK) | Jun 2, 09 6:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Heartsick parents jumped to their death from cliffs in Britain with the body of their son who had died from an illness, reports the Times of London. The trio were found in East Sussex at the foot of Beachy Head, a notorious spot for suicides. The body of the couple's 5-year-old son was found in a backpack, along with a sack of toys. More »
May 2009
- S. Korea Shocked by Death of Ex-Prez
  
  BBC | May 23, 09 2:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - South Koreans are reeling from news that former president Roh Moo-hyun has apparently killed himself, the BBC reports. Hundreds of mourners lined the streets as his body was transported to his hometown funeral. Crowds also gathered around Deoksu Palace in Seoul, presenting flowers and burning incense. "Don't be too sad," Roh wrote in a suicide note to his family. "Isn't life and death all part of nature?" More »
- Passer-by Pushes Would-Be Suicide Off Bridge
  
  BBC | May 23, 09 9:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China’s Haizhu Bridge has attracted 12 would-be jumpers since April—none jumped, but all caused traffic jams. The latest, Chen Fuchao, was the final straw for Lai Jiansheng: After traffic was stopped for 5 hours by police, Lai broke through a barrier, shook Chen’s hand, and pushed him off the bridge himself—then saluted the crowd. Chen, who landed on an emergency air cushion, is recovering, the BBC reports. More »
- Woman First to Use Washington Suicide Law
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | May 22, 09 1:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A 66-year-old woman became the first to opt for physician-assisted suicide under Washington state’s new death-with-dignity law, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Linda Fleming took a lethal dose of medication last night, surrounded by her family, doctor and dog. More »
- 7 Odd Facts About Lady Liberty
  
  NPR | May 10, 09 4:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The crown of the Statue of Liberty will be open for business again July 4, the first time since 9/11. NPR collected a few facts about Lady Liberty you might not know: The 7 spikes: Liberty's crown does not symbolize the 7 continents or seas, as even the National Parks Service reports. They're sun rays, and the circle is a "nimbus." She's so heavy: The statute is made of 31 tons of copper, 125 tons of steel, and the base consists of a whopping 27,000 tons of concrete. More »
- Lithium in Water Cuts Suicide Rate
  
  BBC | May 2, 09 7:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - People in areas where the tap water contains lithium are less likely to kill themselves, according to a new Japanese study. The researchers found that the element—used in high doses to treat mood disorders—appeared to "significantly" reduce the suicide rate even when only tiny amounts of it were found in drinking water, the BBC reports. More »
April 2009
- Army Introduces New Measures to Stem Suicides
  
  Associated Press | Apr 24, 09 6:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The army has begun a new effort to stem the rising toll of soldier suicides, hiring more mental health workers and instituting new rules for drug testing and health screening, reports AP. The number of suicides in the first three months of 2009 reached 56—after a record 140 last year. The armed forces have partly blamed the rising number of suicides on strains from multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. More »
- Plane Thief Wanted Air Force to Shoot Him Down
  
  ABC News | Apr 7, 09 11:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The plane thief who led US fighter jets on a chase across six states yesterday did so as part of a bizarre suicide attempt, according to the Missouri trooper who arrested him. Yavuz Berke was hoping that if he flew the Cessna stolen in Canada into the US he’d be shot down and killed, Justin Watson said today on ABC’s Good Morning America . More »
March 2009
- Sylvia Plath's Son Commits Suicide
  
  Times (UK) | Mar 23, 09 9:02 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The son of writers Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes committed suicide last week, hanging himself at his home in Fairbanks, Alaska, following a battle with depression, reports the Times of London. Nicholas Hughes, 47, was a professor of fisheries and ocean sciences but had recently left his position to take up pottery. His mother killed herself in 1963, when he was still a toddler, after his father left her for another woman. More »
- New Yorker to Run Excerpt of Wallace's Last Book
  
  Washington Post | Mar 1, 09 4:43 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - David Foster Wallace fans can get a glimpse of the deceased writer’s unfinished novel tomorrow, when the New Yorker publishes an excerpt from The Pale King , the Washington Post reports. Wallace, who killed himself last fall, had been working on the book for years. The magazine will also run an article tracing The Pale King ’s saga. More »
February 2009
- NYC Prep Student Leaps to Death Into Recess Crowd
  
  New York Daily News | Feb 19, 09 3:23 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A 17-year-old student at an elite Manhattan prep school leapt to his death from an eleventh-story classroom window yesterday, reports the New York Daily News . His plunging body narrowly missed a group of fourth graders playing in front of the Dalton School. "I heard a loud bang," said a school security guard. "It sounded like a gunshot. He was just dead." More »
November 2008
- Florida Teen Kills Himself on Web TV as Viewers LOL
  
  NewTeeVee | Nov 21, 08 3:11 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A Florida teenager broadcast his hours-long suicide on an internet video-streaming channel as viewers watched, reports Newteevee. After threatening to kill himself on Justin.tv, the teen was egged on by viewers as well as posters on a chat room he used. The young bodybuilder, 19, took a fatal overdose of pills on camera, then lay on his bed for hours. One viewer eventually contacted police. More »
- Def Jam Exec Dead in Apparent Suicide
  
  Billboard | Nov 2, 08 12:11 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Shakir Stewart, who took over at Def Jam Records when Jay-Z stepped down in June, was found dead yesterday, Billboard reports. The rap executive apparently committed suicide, though few details are available. Stewart had signed artists such as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, and Karina Pasian to his label, and in a previous stint at Hitco snagged Beyoncé. More »
October 2008
- Suicide Rate Soars for Middle-Aged
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 21, 08 5:02 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A sharp rise in the number of middle-aged white people taking their own lives has driven up the US suicide rate by nearly 5% since 1999, the Los Angeles Times reports. Experts are baffled by the nearly 16% hike in this group, but speculate that prescription drug abuse, a drop in the use of hormone replacement therapy by menopausal women, or post-9/11 stress could be the cause—as could widespread Boomer disappointment. More »
- Suicide Nets Set for Golden Gate
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Oct 11, 08 6:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A panel has approved a plan to hang nets along the Golden Gate bridge to catch would-be suicides, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The bridge's board voted 14 to 1 in favor of installing the barrier after hearing testimony from psychiatrists, suicide prevention experts, and family members of people who have leaped from the bridge, believed to be the world's top suicide magnet. More »
September 2008
- Depression Killed David Foster Wallace
  
  Salon | Sep 27, 08 6:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After a torrent of tributes to David Foster Wallace since his suicide 2 weeks ago, Salon talks with close friends and family members about the decades-long battle with depression that led the beloved and astonishingly talented writer to take his life. For years, Wallace functioned with the help of antidepressants, but he'd developed problems with the drugs, and stopped taking them. More »
August 2008
- Colleges Face Suicide Crisis
  
  USA Today | Aug 18, 08 4:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - More than half the students at 70 US colleges have contemplated suicide, a startling new study has found. Surveys revealed that 55% once thought of taking their own lives, 18% seriously considered it and 8% actually tried, reports USA Today . Broken romances, school-related problems, and emotional and physical pain were most often cited as the reasons. More »
July 2008
- Golden Gate Guardians Study Suicide Barriers
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jul 8, 08 10:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Golden Gate Bridge is an increasingly popular spot for suicides, but officials are divided over erecting unsightly barriers that might have discouraged the 35 who killed themselves there last year. The Los Angeles Times reports the agency that maintains the bridge is now studying five designs but doesn't have the $25 million to $50 million they would cost. Options include adding nets and raising the existing pedestrian barrier from 4 to 12 feet. More »
June 2008
- With No Body, Cops Doubt NY Banker's Suicide
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 11, 08 11:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An international manhunt is now under way for a former hedge-fund manager who disappeared the day he was to begin serving a prison sentence for defrauding investors. A car belonging to Samuel Israel III was found Monday at a bridge over New York's Hudson River, the Wall Street Journal reports; though bodies of suicide jumpers are normally found quickly, there's no sign of Israel. More »
- Hedge Fund Fraud Missing; Suicide Possible
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 10, 08 2:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Police aren't ruling out suicide as a New York hedge-fund manager due to begin serving a 20-year prison term yesterday remains missing, the Wall Street Journal reports. Police found Samuel Israel's car parked near a bridge over the Hudson, with “Suicide is painless” written in dust on the hood. More »