Jessica Fashano, 27, Jumped To Her Death Off Trump Place Roof
First Posted: 12-20-10 12:32 PM | Updated: 12-20-10 12:46 PM
A 27-year-old analyst for Citigroup and local philanthropist shocked friends and family as she jumped to her death from Trump Place on Saturday.
Not much is known yet as to why Jessica Fashano would decide to take her own life. By all accounts she was not only a rising business star but also a deeply generous and charitable person. According to the New York Times, "she seemed to care more about others than about herself."
She spearheaded fund-raisers for the Acumen Fund, which makes small-business loans to people in developing countries. And just in the past month, friends said, she helped coordinate a fund-raiser at a West Village boutique for Harboring Hearts Housing, a charity that provides lodging at modest prices for cardiac patients.
Fashano was seen on videotape entering a West Side apartment building she did not belong to, 16 blocks north of where she lived. In the elevator she asked a resident how to get to the roof, and at 8:13 a.m. police found her body in a nearby courtyard.
Why exactly Fashano chose this building, and that she left no suicide note, are among the many questions surrounding her death.
Although the police said she was undergoing treatment for depression, friends and associates said she was always in high spirits.
"It's like something just changed overnight," said Ms. Javian, who said she spoke to Ms. Fashano daily and was supposed to have had brunch with her on Saturday morning. "Something just snapped, and we don't know."
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
