- Death is latest jumping suicide in affluent neighborhoods around New York City
A respected New York City realtor has jumped to his death from his Upper East Side apartment building while in the middle of selling a heiress’ home.
Tom Cooper, 56, died when he hit the pavement in front of 18 East 67th Street, close to Madison Avenue, just before 7.30am on Tuesday.
He left behind a suicide note, police said, before he jumped in front of horrified onlookers who thought the impact was a sack of laundry until they saw the body.
The Douglas Elliman agent was selling the $3.7 million unit owned by billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s daughter, filmmaker Meghan Ellison, when he died.
Tom Cooper, 56, a respected New York City realtor, jumped to his death from his Upper East Side apartment building
He died when he hit the pavement in front of 18 East 67th Street, close to Madison Avenue, just before 7.30am on Tuesday
Cooper’s last social media post was himself standing next to a Christmas tree in the lobby of the historic building that houses the apartment and two others he was selling.
‘The gorgeous lobby of The Police Building at 240 Centre St!’ he wrote on Friday.
Cooper also recently helped sell a six-story, 9,000-square-foot townhouse at 24 West 10th Street for $18.5 million.
‘Absolutely thrilled for my wonderful buyers who can now call this stately Greenwich Village brownstone their home. Truly a stunning house, and part of New York City history!’ he wrote on Instagram.
Cooper’s sister is on her way to NYC to be with his ‘devastated’ family and friends.
A witness said one of Cooper’s distraught neighbors ran out of the building, having just seen him days earlier.
‘A neighbor came out and said he just spent Christmas Eve with him and he had said that it was the best Christmas Eve he had ever had,’ the witness told the New York Post.
Cooper’s last social media post was himself standing next to a Christmas tree in the lobby of the historic Policed Building that houses three apartments he was selling
Police investigators could be seen talking with officials from the building in the hours after the man was found
Another witness described how Cooper hit a green wooden construction wall headfirst, then landed on the pavement on his back.
He had a gash on his forehead and the side of his head, the witness said.
‘He wasn’t talking at all, bleeding from the head. His [left] leg was broken. The middle section of his body looked like it was just a bag of bones,’ he said.
Cooper is believed to have jumped from the fourth floor, where he lived in apartment 4A and a window was seen partway open from the street below.
Pictures from the scene taken around this time showed blood on the pavement.
First responders rushed Cooper to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The man leaped from the fourth floor just before 7:30am this morning
First responders rushed the man to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The building dates back to 1905 and is divided into eight private units. In 2022, one unit was rented for $9,000 per month.
Cooper is the latest New Yorker to jump from fancy Manhattan buildings in recent weeks.
Last week, a 35-year-old woman died after jumping from a high-rise known as The Brittany, close to Mayor Eric Adams’ residence in Gracie Mansion.
In October, a 47-year-old man jumped to his death from the Gotham Hotel in Midtown. While in the summer, three men died within the space of two days after taking their own lives.
One of those men died from jumping from a luxury high-rise.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide Prevention hotline on 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.