An elderly woman fell to her death from a luxury high-rise in Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, October 12, 2024, a shocking event that disrupted a nearby wedding.
The woman, who was in her early 80’s, plunged from the 28th floor of the Park Regis Apartments, located on the Upper East Side, at around 3:30 p.m. She was decapitated and had an arm severed after her body struck something on the side of the tower on the way down, resulting in a gruesome scene for the bystanders below.
The horrifying scene happened in front of wedding guests who were attending a ceremony at a nearby Carnegie Hill church. Witnesses described the horror as they saw the woman’s body fall. A resident of the building who arrived shortly after the incident told the New York Post, “I pulled up just as she was laying there; she had no head. “Her body landed there but her head and leg hit the fence there, you can see it’s bent, there were clothes and blood stuck there.” Another witness described the aftermath, saying, “Everyone started rushing towards the body, but she was gone.”
The woman’s identity has not been released, as authorities were working to notify her family. The NYPD stated that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would determine the official cause of death. However, initial reports indicate that the fall was an apparent suicide.
The Park Regis, a 33-story cooperative residential building built in 1974, is managed with the service of a private hotel and offers residents amenities such as a gym, on-site garage, laundry facilities, and bicycle storage. It’s close to cultural landmarks like Museum Mile and Central Park.
The tragic event marks the second fatal fall from a Manhattan high-rise in recent months. In July, J. Michael Cline, 64, co-founder of Fandango, jumped to his death from the 20th floor of The Kimberly Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. He reportedly left a note, although the contents were not disclosed. Cline, 64, had faced business difficulties during the pandemic, which impacted his ventures in the movie ticketing industry.
As authorities continue to investigate, the NYPD has not disclosed any information about what might have prompted the elderly woman to take her own life. In a statement, the department expressed that the investigation remains ongoing and no further details are available.
