3 days ago
Skydiving star's heartbreaking tribute to wife after she died in a freak accident at 28: 'All I see is agony'
The husband of a skydiver who died after a parachute jump took a tragic turn has penned a heartbreaking tribute - 300 days after her death.
Skydiving instructor Devrey Jane LaRiccia Chase, 28, and her student were on a routine tandem skydive when they collided with dust devils - small, tornado-like whirlwinds made of dust and wind - causing them to crash into a field in California.
Both died from severe injuries sustained in the freak accident on August 2, 2024.
In an emotional tribute, her grieving husband Freddy Chase - a fellow skydiver famously known for his daredevil content - detailed his struggles after losing his 'love, my guardian angel, my world, my everything.'
'Falling for Angels. It's been 300 days… 300 days of not hearing your soft voice, not kissing your addictive lips, not losing track of time in your gorgeous eyes,' Freddy said in an Instagram post.
Almost 10 months after her death, Freddy said he returned to the restaurant where they had their first date to reflect on their relationship.
'Trying to find the words to express what it's been like with you gone all this time and the pain it's caused me. I don't think words like that even exist yet,' he explained.
'Life itself has lost its colour. Food has lost its taste. Even family and friendships have lost connection. Hurt fills most of the seconds in my days. Pain and sorrow build with every passing week.
'Looking to the future, all I see is agony and torment - because that's what life has become without you. The simplest reason for this suffering is how much I love and miss you. And it's a price I will gladly pay for the rest of my life just to say: "I fell for an angel".'
Freddy said he felt like the 'luckiest man who ever lived' when he was with Devrey.
'The love you had for me was the purest form of love I'll ever know. The richest man on earth couldn't buy it. The world's smartest philosophers or professors couldn't explain it,' he said.
'The love we shared went beyond human understanding, something eternal, something truly God-given. Pure love. As much as it hurts to go on without you, I know you'd want me to bear this life, even without you, and keep moving forward.
'You know I was never one for sentimental things, but for you, there isn't a price on this earth I wouldn't pay. A million times over.'
The devastated man went on to say that his 'biggest dream' is the day he'll get to 'walk hand-in-hand' with Devrey again.
'To this day, I love you more than I love myself, more than anything I've ever had in my life. As I raise my glass in a toast, remembering the night I first brought you here - I honor you, your presence, your spirit,' he added.
His tribute comes nearly 10 months after Devrey unexpectedly died on her 'final jump of the day'.
'Devrey went to work happy as ever. It was a beautiful day and she was a tandem instructor that day, on her last jump she took a student on a regular day to day skydive,' Freddy said at the time.
'There was no malfunction, there was no plane incident, she was turning her canopy on final to come land safely on the grass, like she has done hundreds of times.
'She noticed what we call in the industry 'dust devils' small little tornados that are dangerous in the sport.
'At about 40ft Devrey avoided one of them, but caught a second one, with dust devils going over grass they become invisible because you can't see any dust in the direction there going.'
He said that his wife was sent into 'an uncontrolled spin', hitting the ground with force. She was found alive but later died in hospital at the age of 28.
'My soul, my love, my other half, my baby my ride or die, my everything, my wife. You were too perfect for this world and God just wanted to bring you home, you were an angel amongst us and just was called back to heaven,' Freddy said.
'Having to say goodbye to you for now will forever be the hardest thing I will ever do in my life. I love you so much my now and forever angel.'
