An experienced British skydiver who died earlier this year intentionally ended her life just one day after her relationship came to an end, officials confirmed.
Jade Damarell, 32, from Wales, died on April 27 after falling into a field in County Durham, northern England. She sustained fatal blunt force injuries, according to The Guardian. Coroner Leslie Hamilton ruled her death a suicide during an inquest held Thursday, the outlet reported.
Damarell, who had logged more than 500 successful jumps, deliberately chose not to deploy her main parachute and also disabled her automatic activation device — a backup mechanism designed to release a reserve chute if a diver is unable to. Investigators later confirmed that her equipment was fully functional, The Guardian noted.
She had been in a relationship with fellow skydiver Ben Goodfellow, 26, for eight months before their breakup, according to the Daily Mail.
During the inquest, Hamilton read a statement from Goodfellow, which explained that the pair had ended their relationship the night before Damarell’s final jump, The Guardian reported. Friends later told the Daily Mail that Goodfellow went to work the following morning, while Damarell carried out the skydive that claimed her life.
On the day before her death, Damarell had completed six jumps. She was known for recording her dives with a camera, but notably did not wear one during her final descent, the Daily Mail added.
Her family accepted the coroner’s findings and expressed their gratitude to the skydiving community for its support. In a statement shared with The Guardian, they said they were “incredibly comforted by how admired, respected, and deeply loved she was.”
They remembered her as “brilliant, beautiful, brave, and truly extraordinary,” while also emphasizing their hope to foster “a culture where mental ill-health is met with kindness and support,” the outlet reported.
