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Skydiver feared to have taken her own life after jumping 10,000ft from plane ‘had split with boyfriend before tragedy'

Skydiver feared to have taken her own life after jumping 10,000ft from plane ‘had split with boyfriend before tragedy'

The Irish Sun26-05-2025

A TRAGIC skydiver is feared to have taken her own life jumping 10,000ft from a plane the day after splitting from her boyfriend.
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Jade Damarell is believed to have taken her own life
Credit: Jade Damarell / Facebook
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The 32-year-old had reportedly been in a relationship with Ben Goodfellow, 26, before the tragedy
Credit: Facebook / Ben Goodfellow
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A friend claimed they split the day before Jade died
Credit: Jade Damarell / Facebook
An inquest heard there were
Her
club, Sky-High Skydiving,
later said the
horror
appeared to be 'a deliberate act'.
Durham
Constabulary
ruled out any third party involvement, and there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing or negligence by the skydiving centre.
It has now emerged letters were left behind by Jade which suggested she intended to take her own life.
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As reported by
Mr Goodfellow, who was also a skydiving enthusiast, had been in a relationship with the 32-year-old for around eight months.
A friend said dubbed the pair "inseparable" and claimed they "spent all their time together".
They had been living together in a lodge on the skydiving site since Christmas.
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"The night before Jade died, they called off the relationship," claimed the source.
"He went to work the next day, and that's when Jade fell to her death."
Mr Goodfellow, a car technician and musician in the band Post Rome, has not spoken on the tragedy but cancelled performances due to "unforeseen circumstances".
The source added how he is "absolutely distraught" by Jade's death.
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Coroner's officer Alexis Blighe said Jade's provisional cause of the skydiver's death was listed as "blunt trauma".
Crook Coroners's Court heard Jade's body was identified by Bryn Chaffe, the chief instructor at Ms Damarell's skydiving club.
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Jade had more than 400 jumps under her belt
Credit: WNS
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Her devastated family paid tribute
Credit: WNS
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The experienced skydiver is understood to have left letters stating her intentions
Credit: WNS
Area coroner Jeremy Chipperfield adjourned the full inquest until August 21.
The
Nigel Wreford, 56, who works on farm nearby, previously said: 'I've been told by quite a few people that she knew what she was doing — she had apparently left a suicide note.'
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While a friend said at the time: 'This wasn't an accident. We believe she intended to take her life, sadly."
Jade studied marketing at university in Leeds before marrying solicitor James Damarell in 2019.
It was previously reported they lived in Yorkshire but are believed to have separated, with Jade later moving into rented accommodation used skydivers in Peterlee.
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others…
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
CALM,
Heads Together,
HUMEN
Mind,
Papyrus,
Samaritans,
Jade's family paid tribute following her death and called her a "brilliant, beautiful, brave and truly extraordinary person".
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They said professionally, she was "exceptionally talented" and had found "freedom and purpose" with her skydiving.
The family added: "A bright, adventurous, free spirit, she lived with immense energy, passion, and love, and touched countless lives with her warmth and kindness.
"We miss her beyond words but Jade's love, brilliance, courage, and light will live on in our family and among all those who knew and loved her.
'Some stars are so bright they burn through their time too quickly – but their light never truly fades.
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'We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone in the emergency services and the local first responders as well as the skydiving community. Your care and compassion mean more to us than we can express.
'Lastly, if you are struggling, please reach out. Talk to someone – a friend, loved one, or professional. You are never alone."
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
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Jade had been in a relationship with Ben for around eight months, a friend claimed
Credit: Midlands Media Agency
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Amazon warns illegal streamers of hidden danger on ‘dodgy' Fire Sticks used to watch Premier League games on the cheap
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The Irish Sun

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Amazon warns illegal streamers of hidden danger on ‘dodgy' Fire Sticks used to watch Premier League games on the cheap

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I heard pal's dying cry as bodies piled on us at Astroworld disaster & begged Travis Scott to stop…mistakes left 10 dead
I heard pal's dying cry as bodies piled on us at Astroworld disaster & begged Travis Scott to stop…mistakes left 10 dead

The Irish Sun

time5 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

I heard pal's dying cry as bodies piled on us at Astroworld disaster & begged Travis Scott to stop…mistakes left 10 dead

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Davidson adds: "Any key decision maker from police, fire, EMS, or Live Nation should have been able to very quickly initiate a show stop. "But what made it confusing was that, according to the event operations plan, there were only two people from Live Nation who had the delegated authority to stop the show." According to cops, the managers in charge were nowhere to be found. Eventually, a manager went backstage to speak to the audio engineer, demanding that the show be shut down in eight minutes. Bizarrely, that didn't happen. In fact, The police and organisers' response after the event was that they did not want to trigger crowd panic by stopping the show abruptly, despite the fact that people were dying. Davidson says: "The idea of a performance continuing while even one CPR in progress is underway is insane. Unprecedented. Not to mention multiple. How could they make that decision?" 'Too late' 22 Davidson went through hours of video evidence and text messages to make sense of what happened Credit: Reuters 22 He says Live Nation sold many more tickets than they should have Credit: AP After trawling through several hours of video evidence, emails, and text messages, Davidson firmly believes that the tragedy was not an accident. He says: "It was an inevitability due to the lack of foresight and the abandonment of basic safety protocols." Davidson says that Live Nation sold 50,000 tickets when the viewing capacity of Travis Scott's set was just 35,000. This means that many thousands more people were planned than could safely view the performance. Additionally, earlier in the day, thousands of people stormed security gates, making it impossible for authorities to determine who had a ticket. Davidson believes this meant many more people were able to enter the venue. The idea that of a performance continuing while even one CPR in progress is underway is insane. Unprecedented. Not to mention multiple. How could they make that decision? Scott Davidson He says: "They knew this was going to be an issue. Not only was Travis' stage in danger of being over capacity. "This poorly designed site led to people approaching the stage from the side and getting trapped in an area where they were crushed, unable to breathe. "All ten fatalities were caused by compression asphyxiation in this area." He also says that text messages showed that Live Nation was aware of the chaos as it unfolded, but failed to act before it was too late. Davidson adds: "In all the failures of Astroworld, a common denominator is the failure to speak truth to power. "There were many missed opportunities to speak up. Somebody to raise their hand up and say, 'Time out. This doesn't make sense. We're gonna hurt somebody'". After the second day of the festival was cancelled, Travis released an apology video, but critics slammed it, saying there was not enough responsibility taken. He came under intense fire and lost several endorsement deals. There were also petitions asking that he be removed from future festivals. Later, in an interview with Charlamagne tha God, he denied ever hearing people begging for him to stop the show. He also said there was never any communication to end the show while he was on stage. Many backed his explanation, saying the responsibility lay with the managers backstage, not the artist. Over 500 of lawsuits were filed against Travis, Live Nation, and other parties involved in organising the event. Hundreds of these lawsuits have now been settled, including those filed by families of nine of the ten victims who died. The terms of the settlement remain confidential. Despite the civil settlements, a grand jury in Texas declined to file criminal charges against Travis or any other party involved in the festival. In a statement, Live Nation denied they had oversold tickets saying: "The sellable capacity for the venue was set by SMG Global and approved by the Houston Fire Department (HFD) before tickets went on sale. "The number of tickets sold and attendees on site did not exceed the approved capacity. HFD, SMG Global and the Houston Police Department (HPD) were aware of the event plans, which were developed in line with safety codes. "The Festival Safety & Risk Director and HPD representatives agreed to and executed an early show stop." Travis has now launched Project HEAL, aimed at supporting community-based programs and enhancing safety measures at large-scale events. 22 In an interview, Travis denied knowing that people were dying during his set Credit: Youtube/CThaGod 22 Bharti Shahani, 22, was among those who lost their lives in the tragedy Credit: Bharti Shahani / gofundme 22 Ex-cheerleader Madison Dubiski, 23, also died after the concert Credit: Facebook

Woman who denies mushroom murders accepts she served death caps for lunch
Woman who denies mushroom murders accepts she served death caps for lunch

Irish Examiner

time6 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Woman who denies mushroom murders accepts she served death caps for lunch

An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms told a court on Tuesday she accepted that the fatal lunch she served contained death caps. But Erin Patterson said the 'vast majority' of the fungi came from local stores. She denies three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the beef Wellington meal she served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband's aunt and uncle at her home in July 2023. Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were taken to hospital and died after the lunch in the rural town of Leongatha in the Australian state of Victoria. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, was gravely ill but survived. Patterson's lawyer earlier told the Supreme Court trial that the poisoning was a tragic accident but prosecutors said it was deliberate. If convicted, she faces a sentence of life imprisonment on the murder charges and 25 years in jail for attempted murder. Long queues formed outside the Latrobe Valley Courthouse on Tuesday after Patterson took the stand, which was the first time she had spoken publicly since the deaths. During several hours of evidence on Tuesday, Patterson, 50, told the court she began foraging fungi during the Covid-19 lockdown of March 2020, witnessed only by her children. 'I cut a bit of one of the mushrooms, fried it up with some butter and ate it,' she said. 'They tasted good and I didn't get sick.' Patterson said she also fed foraged mushrooms to her children, chopped up 'very, very small' so they could not pick them out of curries, pasta and soups. She developed a taste for exotic varieties, joined a 'mushroom lovers' Facebook group, and bought a dehydrator to preserve her finds, Patterson said. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, asked if she accepted that the beef Wellington pastries she had served to her lunch guests in 2023 contained death caps. 'Yes, I do,' said Patterson. The accused told her lawyer most of the mushrooms she used that day came from local supermarkets. She agreed she might have put them in the same container as dehydrated wild mushrooms she had foraged weeks earlier and others from an Asian food store. Mr Mandy in April told the court his client had lied when she initially told investigators that she had never foraged before. But he denied that she had deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms and said she disposed of her dehydrator in a panic about the accidental deaths. Earlier Tuesday, Patterson became tearful when she was asked about expletive-filled messages she had sent about her in-laws in December 2022 in a Facebook group chat that she described as a 'safe venting space' for a group of women. 'I wish I'd never said it. I feel very ashamed for saying it and I wish that the family didn't have to hear that I said it,' said Patterson. 'They didn't deserve it.' Patterson, who said she had tried to have her parents-in-law mediate a dispute with her estranged husband, Simon, about school fees, said she was feeling hurt, frustrated and 'a little bit desperate'. The couple formally separated in 2015 after earlier temporary splits, the court has heard. Simon Patterson was invited to the July 2023 lunch but did not attend.

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