Couple Jump To Their Deaths In New York, Suicide Note Details Financial Difficulties
A New York couple upset over their rising debts jumped to their deaths this week, leaving a note talking about their deep financial despair.
The suicide took place in New York City’s Murray Hill neighborhood early on Friday, the New York Post reported. The couple was both in their 50s, the report noted, and they were found dead after having jumped from a building between Park and Madison avenues in an upscale part of the city.
According to the report, the woman had a note in her pocket that told authorities to take care of their children, who were still upstairs. The suicide note made reference both to deep debts and chronic medical conditions, the New York Post reported.
One lien September showed the couple owed $23,304 in federal taxes, while another in April 2015 indicated a $232,295 debt.
In 2013, the feds took legal action against the man for failing to pay back a nearly $60,000 student loan he took out in 2000 while studying at the Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Mo.
According to a 2016 GOBankingRates study, the No. 1 cause of financial stress for people in New York is paying down debt, with the average balance per person hitting around $50,000.
This is not the first time that a notable suicide has been connected to difficulties in finding adequate health care. In Canada, a Winnipeg family spoke out after their stepfather took his own life. The man committed suicide after he had been sent to the hospital for a previous suicide attempt, and the medical facility decided to release him.
As GlobalNews.ca reported, members said Terrance Van Dyke was dealing with many issues, including pain related to gall stones, and he tried to take his life. Family members found him during the suicide attempt and took Van Dyke to a hospital, but he was released hours after being admitted as doctors said there was nothing more they could do for him.
Family questions health-care system following suicide hours after discharge from ER https://t.co/RbIP6Km73C pic.twitter.com/hSJ8KKJUf9
— CBC Manitoba (@CBCManitoba) July 24, 2017
A Winnipeg family is demanding answers after their loved one took his own life hours after begging doctors for help.https://t.co/gA1FTTbiGY
— Global Winnipeg (@globalwinnipeg) July 23, 2017
Family members said Van Dyke warned doctors that he would attempt suicide again, but he was still released.
“He said ‘mark my words, I’m going to be back here, and I’m not going to be alive,'” said the man’s stepdaughter, Ashley Gallagher.
Van Dyke did end up taking his life later, and the family said they are considering legal action against the Winnipeg hospital that released him.
Friends and family of the New York couple who committed suicide said they had no idea the two were in such dire financial straits, and remembered them as a loving couple devoted to their children.
[Featured Image by 400tmax/iStock]
