Rachel Bryk, a 23-year-old transgender woman, jumped from the George Washington Bridge Thursday.
A young transgender woman from New Jersey leaped to her death from the George Washington Bridge Thursday as two off-duty cops begged her not to take her life.
"Don't do it! Don't jump!" one policewoman yelled as Rachel Bryk's jumped, leaving behind her shoes, her purse and her ID, a source familiar with the incident told the Daily News.
The 23-year-old, a popular developer for game emulator Dolphin, faced “constant transphobia” and brutal bullying online, she wrote before her suicide.
Police have not recovered Bryk’s body. Teams spotted her corpse floating in the river during their initial search, but it sunk below the water before rescue teams could recover it.
A previously scheduled tweet announcing her suicide appeared on her Twitter account hours later.
Eight hours after the Thursday afternoon jump, a scheduled tweet appeared on Bryk’s Twitter account: “Guess I am dead. Killed myself. Sorry.”
Weeks before she leapt into the Hudson River, Bryk wrote about the “constant transphobia” she faced online. She left message board 4Chan because of the continual torment, she wrote on April 7 during a brief return to the anonymous website.
“The rest of you don't have to worry though, i'm gonna kill myself soon enough and you won't have to be bothered by me anymore,” she wrote after pointing out the brutality.
Bryk's body has not been recovered, but officers found her ID in her purse left on the bridge, sources said.
That comment spurred only more hatred.
“DO IT, if you're such a weak willed thin skinned dips--t then f--king do it,” one user commented.
Bryk committed suicide a day before Bruce Jenner revealed that he is transgender and transitioning, an announcement hailed as a landmark in transgender awareness and acceptance.
Bryk’s mom said her daughter’s suicide was likely “a combination of everything,” including years of chronic pain from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Those conditions made it difficult for her to keep a job or regular schedule, Lisa Bryk told Gay Star News.
“While Rachel was certainly bullied and harassed online, that was NOT the reason she committed suicide,” Lisa Bryk wrote on Facebook. “From her own words in many things I read, her illness and chronic pain were the reason.”
Bryk was the 10th most active developer on Dolphin, a gaming software that allows users to play Nintendo Wii and GameCube games on their computers.
“She often would do a lot of the drudge work that no one else would do and attempt features that no one else had time to work on,” Dolphin said in a commemorative statement, which described her as “one of the most helpful developers we've ever had.”
source
A young transgender woman from New Jersey leaped to her death from the George Washington Bridge Thursday as two off-duty cops begged her not to take her life.
"Don't do it! Don't jump!" one policewoman yelled as Rachel Bryk's jumped, leaving behind her shoes, her purse and her ID, a source familiar with the incident told the Daily News.
The 23-year-old, a popular developer for game emulator Dolphin, faced “constant transphobia” and brutal bullying online, she wrote before her suicide.
Police have not recovered Bryk’s body. Teams spotted her corpse floating in the river during their initial search, but it sunk below the water before rescue teams could recover it.
A previously scheduled tweet announcing her suicide appeared on her Twitter account hours later.
Eight hours after the Thursday afternoon jump, a scheduled tweet appeared on Bryk’s Twitter account: “Guess I am dead. Killed myself. Sorry.”
Weeks before she leapt into the Hudson River, Bryk wrote about the “constant transphobia” she faced online. She left message board 4Chan because of the continual torment, she wrote on April 7 during a brief return to the anonymous website.
“The rest of you don't have to worry though, i'm gonna kill myself soon enough and you won't have to be bothered by me anymore,” she wrote after pointing out the brutality.
Bryk's body has not been recovered, but officers found her ID in her purse left on the bridge, sources said.
That comment spurred only more hatred.
“DO IT, if you're such a weak willed thin skinned dips--t then f--king do it,” one user commented.
Bryk committed suicide a day before Bruce Jenner revealed that he is transgender and transitioning, an announcement hailed as a landmark in transgender awareness and acceptance.
Bryk’s mom said her daughter’s suicide was likely “a combination of everything,” including years of chronic pain from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Those conditions made it difficult for her to keep a job or regular schedule, Lisa Bryk told Gay Star News.
“While Rachel was certainly bullied and harassed online, that was NOT the reason she committed suicide,” Lisa Bryk wrote on Facebook. “From her own words in many things I read, her illness and chronic pain were the reason.”
Bryk was the 10th most active developer on Dolphin, a gaming software that allows users to play Nintendo Wii and GameCube games on their computers.
“She often would do a lot of the drudge work that no one else would do and attempt features that no one else had time to work on,” Dolphin said in a commemorative statement, which described her as “one of the most helpful developers we've ever had.”
source