Authorities are trying to piece together the circumstances that led to Martha Corey-Ochoa apparently jumping to her death from her tenth floor dorm window, only days after moving in to her new residence at John Jay hall.
According to reports the incident happened at 11pm last night and the freshman student was found under grisly circumstances as she was rushed to nearby St Luke’s hospital.
Despite having a history of mental health problems, the promising student is said to have left no note nor were there any indications from those who knew her that she was contemplating suicide.
Offered the girl’s father, George Ochoa: ‘I’m not sure if I’m ready to say anything at all about my daughter.’
Said Jennifer Dawber, a Columbia administrative officer:
‘She was kind, polite and extremely intelligent and said it seemed as though Corey-Ochoa was always in the newspaper for receiving academic awards.’
Offered Roberta Reynolds, a neighbor of the family:
‘She was a quiet girl, a very studious girl,’
‘Whatever happened, she was not used to being away from the family.
‘If she did do this, it’s because she didn’t want to disappoint her family.
‘I don’t know how the family will cope without her.’
Then there’s this via Julie Lowery whose daughter also attended the same class as Corey-Ochoa:
‘She never said a bad word about anybody,’
‘She didn’t gossip.
‘She liked to go out to dinner, to go out for ice cream.’
“She was very excited” about starting school, Angela Singh, 18, a New Jersey resident said of Corey-Ochoa. “I saw the email. I felt really upset. She was the first person I met here.
“She was really happy to be here.’
Some have wondered if the fall may have been a situation of the freshman accidentally falling or if something suddenly overwhelmed her causing her to either lose her balance or choosing to end her life….
Corey-Ochoa was valedictorian at Dobbs Ferry High School in Westchester. She had recently told a local publication she planned to double major in English and math.
