Police say a man took a fatal plunge from a high-rise apartment building in Murray Hill, landing in the middle of Lexington Avenue on Monday morning.
Responding to 911 calls just after 8 a.m. on Nov. 29, police and EMS discovered an unnamed man laying unresponsive at the corner of East 33rd Street and Lexington Avenue just outside of Windsor Court Apartments. According to police sources, the man appeared to have jumped from the 31-story high-rise, taking his own life.
The macabre scene left many locals shocked and unnerved. Azharul, was working at Anita’s Delicatessen when he heard the awful sound of the jumper hitting the road.
“It sounded like a gunshot,” Azharul said, slamming his hand down on the deli’s counter to indicate the noise. “It was very distressing. It happened right in front of one of our customers, she saw the entire thing. She was devastated, she was shaking,” Azharul explained.
Officers swiftly wrapped the area with crime scene tape and concealed the body with a sheet while they investigated. Onlookers could be seen popping their heads out of apartment windows, cupping their mouths in dismay while a sizable crowd gathered on street level muttering among themselves.
Megan Siniscalchi lives in Windsor Court and found the commotion while leaving to work.
“This has happened before. We are not allowed on the roof when the sun goes down, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it,” Siniscalchi said, who has lived at the address for a year. “It’s sad,” she added.
Officers at the scene could be observed measuring the distance from the building and the corpse.
The man also appeared to have leapt from the complex with a backpack and duffle bag full of personal items. Members of the NYPD and detectives could be seen removing everything from a tablet, a laptop, and stacks of paper to medication, housekeys, and a surgical mask.
After several hours the body was removed, and the street was reopened.
