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Strange Deaths

Sounds like the zombie apocalypse has begun. Yikes.

Girl, 7, Stabbed to Death in Bolton Park.

'A 30-year-old woman, who was not known to the family, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said officers were "working to understand the motive for this completely random and brutal attack.

A woman who was not known to the family was detained by a member of the public and then arrested by the police," he said.

"We understand that the woman has some history of mental illness and we are working to understand if this played any part in her motive." '

I understand, from other reports, that the frenzied attack took place in the full view of the parents. RIP.
 
A Russian-made Su-25, belonging to the Chadian Air Force accidentally fired a missile that veered into a senior Chadian commander’s home, killing five people including three children.


The video footage captures the firing of the missile at the Adji Kossei airbase as the aircraft was preparing to take off. The missile clips an empty fuel tanker, which made it veer just away from a parked French C-130 aircraft before disappearing from view. It then slammed into the home of General Mahamat Salah Brahim, Deputy Commander of the Presidential Guard.

According to local reports, four people — two adults and two children — were initially reported dead. A young girl, critically injured in the blast, died later in the hospital. General Brahim is not thought to be among those killed.

https://sofrep.com/news/su-25-accidentally-fires-missile-while-on-ground-misses-parked-c-130-kills-5/

maximus otter
 
One from my neck of the woods.

https://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news...in-ditch-at-wassailing-event-near-highbridge/

Inquest hears lady drowned in ditch at wassailing event near Highbridge

A Bridgwater lady who went to a wassailing event near Highbridge to celebrate her birthday tragically drowned in a water-filled drainage ditch, an inquest has heard this week.

Elaine Williams was almost three times the legal drink drive limit when she died in a rhyne at Rich’s Cider Farm in Watchfield in January.

This week’s inquest hearing was told that Elaine, 54, of Halesleigh Road in Bridgwater, had been missing for an hour after going to smoke a cigarette.

Elaine, who trained as a nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, was discovered face down in the ditch and was sadly declared dead at the scene by an ambulance crew on the night of January 18th, 2020.

A Home Office pathologist confirmed she died from drowning, with toxicology tests revealing 229mg of alcohol in her blood.

Tony Williams, Senior Somerset Coroner, recorded a conclusion of an accidental death.

Two thoughts occur with reference to the woman's unfortunate and unusual passing:

-She actually was found "dead in a ditch" (as per the warnings from our parents when teenagers).

-Was she an accidental sacrificial victim á la Wicker Man...?
 

It's all coming out now -

Anglesey crossbow murder: Pair face fraud and money laundering charges


In a statement, North Wales Police said a 49-year-old man and a his 50-year-old partner had been summoned to appear in court.

"Following consultation with lawyers at the Crown Prosecution Service, a local man has been summonsed for six offences of fraud by false representation," said Det Sgt Arwel Hughes.

"The man's partner has been summonsed for a money laundering offence."

Det Sgt Hughes said the charges followed a "parallel fraud investigation" launched in May 2019, following the shooting of Mr Corrigan.

This is what I was told about by workmates from that area.
 
The mystery in this death concerns WTF happened to the parachute the victim was wearing when he jumped out of the airplane ...
NYC Man Dies In Skydiving Accident; Police Looking For Parachute

Witnesses said the man was wearing a parachute when he jumped out of the plane at 14,000 feet.

A New York City man died while skydiving in Ulster County Sunday. State police said William McCartin, 40, of New York, boarded a plane at the Skydive the Ranch facility in the Town of Gardiner and jumped out at about 14,000 feet along with another person.

Witnesses said that McCartin left the plane wearing a parachute, but hit the ground in the parking lot of the Gardiner Fire Department on Route 44/55.

He died of his injuries, police said.

The parachute that McCartin jumped out of the plane with has not been located, according to authorities.

State police are asking anyone who may have located it or seen the incident to call the Highland barracks at 845-691-2922.

SOURCE: https://patch.com/new-york/midhudsonvalley/nyc-man-dies-skydiving-accident-police-looking-parachute
 
The mystery in this death concerns WTF happened to the parachute the victim was wearing when he jumped out of the airplane ...


SOURCE: https://patch.com/new-york/midhudsonvalley/nyc-man-dies-skydiving-accident-police-looking-parachute
This looks like a real mystery.

For a start, how do we know he was wearing a parachute? Surely it's someone's job to check this before the jump. He's for the, er, high jump!

If he did have a parachute, where did it go?
Has it come loose? Parachutes have to be thoroughly checked over between uses.

Owners do this themselves. A company that arranges skydiving for customers will be responsible for checking and maintaining them. Any loose fittings should be found and replaced.

Could he have removed the parachute himself after he jumped, by accident or deliberately?
Seems unlikely.

'Suicide by parachute' is not unheard of.

Stephen Hilder is believed to have done this in 2003 by cutting his own parachute straps before packing it for a jump.

(Some skydivers still don't believe Hilder killed himself.)

Another, first-time parachutist killed himself in 2006 after taking a skydiving course. He cut the cords while he was actually falling to earth.

However, my money is on a poorly-checked faulty parachute and/or a negligent supervisor at the point of jumping.

Happy to be proved wrong of course.
 
OK, now there was a story about a skydiving coach who was filming his students on the way down to earth, and he would strap on his chute, grab the camera and leap out. Three steps. Except he forgot step one. His camera recorded his last words as "Uh-oh!"

Sounds too good (or bad) to be true, but it was in an FT compilation book of strange deaths, so it seems to be authentic. Anyone recognise this one?
 
I would like to know what the other jumper saw. It doesn’t say who jumped first. Another question, and I know diddly squat about parachuting, but could it be possible that the chute didn’t open and the wind force rip it off of him as he plummeted?
 
There are too many times between kitting up and jumping where you check your harness, making sure it's not too loose or too tight or twisted, doing the same to anyone else that is next to you. The Jump Master would be able to see straight away if there was anything amiss as you walked to the plane.

The parachute couldn't be far away due to never jumping, if wind is more than 10 mph....It is a conundrum.
 
This looks like a real mystery.

For a start, how do we know he was wearing a parachute? Surely it's someone's job to check this before the jump. He's for the, er, high jump!

If he did have a parachute, where did it go?
Has it come loose? Parachutes have to be thoroughly checked over between uses.

Owners do this themselves. A company that arranges skydiving for customers will be responsible for checking and maintaining them. Any loose fittings should be found and replaced.

Could he have removed the parachute himself after he jumped, by accident or deliberately?
Seems unlikely.

'Suicide by parachute' is not unheard of.

Stephen Hilder is believed to have done this in 2003 by cutting his own parachute straps before packing it for a jump.

(Some skydivers still don't believe Hilder killed himself.)

Another, first-time parachutist killed himself in 2006 after taking a skydiving course. He cut the cords while he was actually falling to earth.

However, my money is on a poorly-checked faulty parachute and/or a negligent supervisor at the point of jumping.

Happy to be proved wrong of course.

Witnesses said he left the plane with a parachute - he then chose to remove the parachute from himself after deploying it - probable suicide.

I've not read it but it's all contained here:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/prh_change1.pdf
 
This June 30 article provides some info from the perspective of a fellow skydiver who'd jumped after McCartin and his coach.

This story provides two key points ... First - McCartin's parachute did deploy, and it was seen from the ground. Second - the search continues for McCartin's chute equipment (which is described for the first time).

McCartin had some 200 jumps until that point, but because it had been a couple of months since his last jump, he was accompanied by a coach, which is part of the FAA-approved skydiving licensing system. The jump was the final step for McCartin to again be allowed to skydive solo ...

Instructor John Kieran had been on the plane with McCartin, but made a separate skydive after McCartin and the coach. The plane was flying at about 14,000 feet when McMartin and his coach jumped, and the two separated to give make room to open the parachutes. After Kieran landed, he saw McCartin’s chute still in the air, and didn’t immediately realized that McCartin was no longer attached to it. “We all come down at different speeds,” he explained, and the fact that McCartin had somehow slipped his harness only became clear with time. ...

FULL STORY: https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2020/06...without-chute-in-fire-department-parking-lot/

See Also:
https://www.nyspnews.com/update-sta...re-investigating-fatal-skydiving-incident.htm
 
Witnesses said he left the plane with a parachute - he then chose to remove the parachute from himself after deploying it - probable suicide.

You'd think it would be hard to remove a parachute while it's actually in use. I expect there's a quick-release method for if you land in a burning tree or whatever.

The two 'parachute suicides' I've come across both cut their own parachute straps; one before he packed it and the other during the actual jump.

(The one who was concluded to have cut the straps before the jump is believed to have done it when the parachute was in the boot of his car at some point.
Microscopic threads from the straps were found on the blades of scissors found in his possessions and on his clothing, and his DNA was on the scissor handles.

Even so, his friends say that the fact he pulled all the several parachute release controls during his fatal jump proves he didn't intend to die. Maybe he panicked or changed his mind? Or he really didn't cut the straps and acted as he'd been trained to when a parachute fails?
The case is closed as a suicide so that's where the matter must rest.)
 
Self-explanatory really -

Two men die in Spain after tourist falls from hotel balcony on to man below

The first victim, believed to be 50 and staying at the hotel, fell from the seventh floor of the Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to local media reports.

He landed on top of another man, thought to be 43 and a Spanish national, who was sat on a ground floor terrace, according to El Mundo.
 
If it's determined the tourist who fell off the balcony was a suicide this will become another item in our Death By Jumper thread ...
 
This looks like a real mystery.

For a start, how do we know he was wearing a parachute? Surely it's someone's job to check this before the jump. He's for the, er, high jump!

If he did have a parachute, where did it go?
Has it come loose? Parachutes have to be thoroughly checked over between uses.

Owners do this themselves. A company that arranges skydiving for customers will be responsible for checking and maintaining them. Any loose fittings should be found and replaced.

Could he have removed the parachute himself after he jumped, by accident or deliberately?
Seems unlikely.

'Suicide by parachute' is not unheard of.

Stephen Hilder is believed to have done this in 2003 by cutting his own parachute straps before packing it for a jump.

(Some skydivers still don't believe Hilder killed himself.)

Another, first-time parachutist killed himself in 2006 after taking a skydiving course. He cut the cords while he was actually falling to earth.

However, my money is on a poorly-checked faulty parachute and/or a negligent supervisor at the point of jumping.

Happy to be proved wrong of course.

Wasn't there a guy who tampered with his wife's parachute after he found out she'd been having an affair or an "entanglement" or whatever they call it these days?


Google it - there's been a few....
 
Wasn't there a guy who tampered with his wife's parachute after he found out she'd been having an affair or an "entanglement" or whatever they call it these days?
Google it - there's been a few....

You're thinking of an army sergeant who sabotaged his wife's parachute. She survived though.
 
Mum-of-four strangled to death by leads pulled by two dogs

Deborah Mary Roberts, 47, was found lying face down in grassland with the dog leads around her neck on July 8 after a young girl raised the alarm.

An inquest at Denbighshire County Hall was told Mrs Roberts was lying face down with leads around her neck which were being pulled on by two dogs.

John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, said a postmortem examination gave a provisional cause of death as asphyxia due to strangulation.

He said there was no suggestion of suspicious circumstances and adjourned the inquest into her death at a later date.

Seems improbable - most dog leads wouldn't go over your head, & even if you had them it would surely need 2 strong dogs pulling in opposite directions to asphyxiate.
 
Mum-of-four strangled to death by leads pulled by two dogs

Deborah Mary Roberts, 47, was found lying face down in grassland with the dog leads around her neck on July 8 after a young girl raised the alarm.

Seems improbable - most dog leads wouldn't go over your head, & even if you had them it would surely need 2 strong dogs pulling in opposite directions to asphyxiate.

When I kept two dogs I'd routinely walk them on two leads clipped together. Sometimes it would be one lead (actually an old handbag strap!) with a connector at each end, about a yard long, because having the two full-length leads attached together made a trip hazard.
 
Maybe the dogs had seen something they wanted to chase, like a squirrel, and become agitated and started circling round her. Or perhaps they started fighting.

If she was trying to control them by passing a lead over her head so both dogs were on the same side, or else trying to keep them apart, she might have got it caught round her neck. This sort of thing can happen quickly with dogs.

I've had something similar but my only injury was a slight rope burn.
 
Don't eat glue.

"AS THE STORY GOES, A vagrant wandering the streets of Goldfield in 1908 was rummaging through the trash outside the local library, looking for something to eat. The best sustenance he came across was a jar of book paste.

He would have found the paste surprisingly sweet, because in addition to flour and water, it was 60% alum. Unfortunately, the concentration was deadly. "

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/paste-eaters-grave
 
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