Experienced skydiver deliberately fell to her death day after breakup with partner: coroner

An experienced UK skydiver — who was killed instantly during a skydive earlier this year — deliberately took the fatal jump just one day after she ended a relationship with her partner, authorities confirmed.

Jade Damarell, who fell 15,500 feet into a field in Shotton Colliery in County Durham on April 27, died of blunt trauma injuries after taking the international leap, Coroner Leslie Hamilton announced at an inquest into her death, according to the Guardian.

The death of the 32-year-old skydiver — who had more than 500 successful jumps in her career—  has been officially ruled a suicide, Hamilton said.

The coroner also summarized a note from Damarell’s former partner and fellow skydiver, which read that the couple had “ended their relationship” the night before she took her life.

Her partner was previously identified as Ben Goodfellow, 26,  the Daily Mail reported.

“The two of them were inseparable,” an anonymous friend told the Daily Mail of the pair, who dated for around eight months.

The night before Jade died, Ben called off the relationship,” the friend added.

“He went to work the next day, and that’s when Jade fell to her death,” the friend said.

It is not officially clear who called off the relationship before Damarell died.

Damarell, who was from Caerphilly in Wales, had completed six skydiving jumps on the day before her death, the inquest heard, according to the outlet.

On her final jump, Damarell deliberately did not deploy her main parachute and had turned off a device designed to automatically deploy the parachute at a certain altitude and speed if a skydiver is unable to do so, Hamilton continued.

She typically wore a camera to capture her dives, but did not wear one during her last jump, the outlet reported.

Hamilton concluded that the blue-eyed beauty was a “very experienced” skydiver, who intended to end her own life.

Damarell had left instructions on her phone lock screen about how to access it after her death, and notes addressed for her family were found on a handset — including messages “apologising and thanking them for their support” and details of her finances, the inquest heard.

Damarell’s family accepted the coroner’s ruling and thanked her skydiving community for support following her tragic death, describing how they were “incredibly comforted by how admired, respected and deeply loved she was.”

Damarell was “brilliant, beautiful, brave and truly extraordinary,” they said, adding they want to contribute to a “culture where mental ill-health is met with kindness and support.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.