Noah Legaspi NJ teen jumps to his suicide death from Mandarin Oriental Hotel after bad break up with girlfriend. Family said teen struggled with mental health issues. Boy’s body was split in half on the way down.
A 17 year old New Jersey teen and aspiring fashion designer undergoing a ‘bad break-up’ jumped to his death from the top of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel last week.
Noah Legaspi took a taxi from his ex-girlfriend’s house to the ritzy Columbus Circle hotel and then FaceTimed the girl before he dropped 750 feet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘They broke it off and he just was never good at handling his emotions so post-breakup I guess he just wasn’t able to control his thoughts and feelings,’ Legaspi’s older brother Luis told the nypost.
‘She received an eerie FaceTime call from him from the top of the hotel looking over and they had a FaceTime call and he said ‘Look at this pretty view’ and ‘I love you,’’ the sibling said.
Horror at the Mandarin Oriental in NYC as man plunges through its marquee and ‘is split in half’ after leaping off top of 750ft Deutsche Bank Center where Jay-Z and Gisele have apartments https://t.co/TwzLDrrlfS pic.twitter.com/pyJex3GMiT
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) August 18, 2023
NJ teen calls ex girlfriend from hotel roof moments before leaping to his death
The girl, whom Noah began dating last spring, was ‘startled’ and quickly called Legaspi’s mother.
She told the mother that the call came from a tall building, but she had no idea where Noah was, Luis Legaspi said.
From there, the family scoured their local area in Avenel but eventually reported him missing.
NYPD investigators knocked on the family’s door Monday night to confirm with loved ones that the incoming Colonia High School senior had taken the fatal plunge at Columbus Circle, Thursday night.
A Facebook page which had been started in hopes of finding the missing teen, following news of his tragic death was converted to a remembrance page.
‘We received word last night and are in the process of mourning,’ the family said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. ‘We, the Legaspi family, appreciate all the time and dedication that was put into finding Noah. The support was insurmountable and for that we are grateful.’
Mental health issues
The scene outside the five-star hotel, which is part of the 55-story Deutsche Bank Center, was gruesome following Noah Legaspi’s suicide death.
The teen’s body was split in half after Legaspi struck the glass awning on the way down.
An arm was found across the street, where construction scaffolding was seen dripping with blood.
It’s believed Legaspi took a service elevator to the roof before plunging to his death.
Noah Legaspi struggled with mental health issues even though he excelled as a tailor, volleyball player and emerging bass guitar player, Luis Legaspi said.
He wanted to study fashion design, perhaps even in New York City, the brother said.
While he was a bright light in other people’s day, he ‘battled his own demons and insecurities,’ the brother said.
‘He always felt that he wasn’t deserving of love and attention and it really sucks because I don’t know where it came from,’ Luis Legaspi said. ‘I know from our family he’s so loved.’
‘He was really a one-of-a-kind person,’ the elder sibling added. ‘Whoever he was in contact with, he made their day.’
‘We’re not blaming her’
News of Noah’s suicide death unsettled Legaspi’s ex girlfriend, who now blames herself for the teen taking his own life.
‘I don’t want her to have the impression that we’re upset and we’re blaming her,’ Luis Legaspi told the nypost. ‘Both me and my sister comforted her, told her it was nobody’s fault. Don’t feel guilty.’
The young girl is an only child, so the surviving brother and sister told her if she ever needs people to talk to, she could call them.
‘That’s how we are and that’s how Noah is, too,’ Luis Legaspi said. ‘He would always try to make someone’s day before he made his own day, and that’s just the kind of character he is because he’s caring for people and thoughtful.’
It remained unclear who initiated the teen’s break- up and what led up to it.
