The Most Beautiful Suicide - Evelyn McHale leapt to her death from the Empire State Building, 1947

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“The most beautiful suicide” – Evelyn McHale, 1947.

This powerful photo taken by Robert C. Wiles was published as a full-page image in the 12 May, 1947 issue of Life Magazine. It ran with the caption: “At the bottom of the Empire State Building the body of Evelyn McHale reposes calmly in grotesque bier, her falling body punched into the top of a car“.



Evelyn McHale is probably the most famous Empire State Building suicide victim. The young and pretty Evelyn leaped from the 86th-floor observatory in 1947 and landed on the roof of a United Nations limousine parked on the street below. Her calmly elegant demeanor, her legs crossed at the ankles, the way the car’s metal folded like sheets and framed her head and arms—perhaps these were the reasons that McHale’s death was given its title as “The most Beautiful Suicide”. When she died, she was still wearing her pearls and white gloves.


Evelyn McHale

Born September 20, 1923 and one of seven siblings, she was a child in Washington D.C. when McHale’s mother left the household and her parents divorced. Her father, a bank examiner, retained custody of all the children. After high school, McHale became a WAC, stationed in Jefferson, Missouri. She made her way to New York City where she worked as a bookkeeper and lived quietly with her brother and sister-law in Baldwin, Long Island. She met her fiance Barry Rhodes, a Pennsylvania college student just discharged from the Air Force, and was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Rhodes’ younger brother.

On April 30, 1947, Evelyn took the train from New York to Easton to visit Barry for his 24th birthday. All seemed well between the couple, and the next day, Barry kissed his fiance goodbye as she boarded the 7:00 AM train to Penn Station. “When I kissed her goodbye, she was happy and as normal as any girl about to be married”. Their wedding was set to be held at Barry’s brother’s home in Troy, New York, that June.

Around 10:40 am Patrolman John Morrissey, directing traffic at Thirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, noticed a white scarf floating down from the upper floors of the building. Moments later he heard a crash and saw a crowd converge on 34th street. Evelyn had jumped, cleared the setbacks, and landed on the roof of a United Nations Assembly Cadillac limousine parked on 34th street, some 200 ft west of Fifth Ave.

A photography student across the street, Robert C. Wiles, heard the loud crash of her body hitting the metal, and ran over too. Fortuitously, he had his camera and took a photo of her as she lay on the roof of the crumpled car. It was snapped just four minutes after she died and, despite the 1050-foot fall (320 m), her body looked intact. Remarkably Evelyn shows absolutely no evidence of trauma and appears disarmingly placid and composed – as if asleep. Around her, however, the crumpled sheet metal and broken glass show the violent destructive evidence of her jump. This apparent juxtaposition is what makes Wiles’ image so arresting and memorable. Some 60 years later it remains a haunting and affecting piece of photo-journalism. A more artistic colorization.

Evelyn McHale, colored photo.

A colored version of the famous photo.

According to reports she essentially “fell apart” when they moved her body. Her insides were basically liquefied. Later, on the observation deck, detective Frank Murray found her tan (or maybe gray, reports differ) cloth coat neatly folded over the observation deck wall, a brown make-up kit filled with family pictures and a black pocketbook with the note which read:

“I don’t want anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me. Could you destroy my body by cremation? I beg of you and my family – don’t have any service for me or remembrance for me. My fiance asked me to marry him in June. I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me. Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies”.

Her body was identified by her sister Helen Brenner and, according to her wishes, she was cremated. There is no grave.

Interesting fact

Since the Empire State Building was constructed in 1931 some 36 people have jumped from the building, including 17 from the 86th floor observation deck. Evelyn was the 12th suicide from the building and the sixth to clear all of the setbacks. She was one of five people in a three-week period to attempt suicide from the observation deck. In response a 10-ft wire mesh fence was installed and guards were trained to spot potential jumpers. After the barrier was installed people just jumped from other parts of the building, usually from office windows.


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96 COMMENTS

Nathan Joseph APRIL 20, 2014
I wish I had a chance to speak to these people before they jump. All they needed was a friend.
Mar JUNE 22, 2014
As cold as it sounds, you can't stop someone from not wanting to live. She had a family, a fianc?, and friends. She probably needed medication. If you stop someone from suicide they will try again. Whenever someone wants to commit suicide they will. If you succesfully convince someone not to that person was just trying to get attention.
Crystal AUGUST 26, 2014
It sounds as though you do not know much about suicide.
Cameron SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
That's much to black and white. Some people can be suicidal, and find reasons to live.
JoseJoe NOVEMBER 17, 2014
That is completely false. Suicide attempts are often made impulsively and may have nothing to do with attention seeking.
chrissy JUNE 11, 2015
I don't think that's a valid argument. You can't say if someone attempted suicide and was stopped they did it for attention . I know of people that attempted were found hanging and people found them midway and stopped them and they haven't done it again.
Bobby English NOVEMBER 20, 2015
Who paid for the damaged car?
darthsloth JANUARY 4, 2016
I've read elsewhere that it was a United Nations limousine, so probably the US taxpayers.
Brooke JANUARY 6, 2016
Not necessarily true. One tried myself. After I awoken at the hospital, realizing I was alive, all of my problems somehow seemed irrelevant to the fact of what I had tried to do. Even though I do have chronic major depression and mild bipolar disorder, i was on the meds at the time I tried to commit. I still have suicidal episodes where I just don't feel happy anymore but once I talk to someone about how and what I'm feeling, it's usually not as bad and I'm able to keep strong. Trust me, I'll probably have several instances as such, considering I'm only fourteen.
Kathy Latimer JANUARY 15, 2016
Brooke, there is help out there for you. If your parents can't or won't help you, find another adult to help you. If you feel suicidal and can't get help, go to the police station or a hospital and tell someone there. You are too important to the world to take your own life. I'm praying for you, Brooke.
Cynthia Williams JUNE 27, 2016
Suicidal feelings are very dark, I know because I have them, when you allow them to take over you are at the dregs of life. I know I could easily do it, but I am very religious & it doesn't allow it. I take medication for depression & usually I take a pill & my attitude changes. Along with the medication I still have to think myself out of the feelings. Managing this is not for the weak-hearted.
I wish Brooke will think about seeking help through a school counselor & if she throws it back to your parents & they do nothing, please keep trying (many churches will help you) just do't give up!
JohnsMom FEBRUARY 11, 2016
Brooke,
My mom committed suicide 2 years ago. My family and I have struggled with the pain of her loss ever since. I have since had a baby and my thoughts constantly go to wondering if she had held on for just a little bit longer, would her thought processes have changed? It is wonderful that you have been able to speak about your pain and your ideations. I hope that you continue to stay strong and keep the lines of communication open between a trusted adult and yourself.
Warmest Thoughts,
Meredith
Angel APRIL 30, 2016
Don't do it Brookie. Too much fun waiting to be had by you. Even if you have to wait until adulthood. Spend this time planning your life rather than ending it. Avoid the fools and life will be worth it. I promise.
Charlene JUNE 1, 2016
"If you succesfully convince someone not to that person was just trying to get attention"
WOW...That's low to say...
I've been able to encourage and support many people that have wanted to commit suicide and it wasn't because they just wanted attention, because they realised they weren't alone and they had someone to talk to!!
CJL NOVEMBER 8, 2014
As well intention your thought of talking to these people before they jumped may be, Nathan Joseph, mental illness and depression is far more insipid than just something as mundane as needing a friend. Evelyn was obviously loved by many. She was to be married. She had siblings and a father in her life. However, it seems to me, the relationship her mother had with her family (she probably had depression as well) and the subsequent abandonment by her mother created some deep wounds that were never addressed and led to her taking her life. Depression is a terrible sickness and it breaks my heart when I hear people vilify people who take their lives as "selfish or coward". There is nothing selfish or cowardly about taking your life. I believe that people who commit suicide think they are doing what is best for those who will be left behind because living with them in their current state of mental health is doing their loved ones a disservice.
JoseJoe NOVEMBER 17, 2014
Insipid: I don't think that word. means what you think it means.
Carol MAY 30, 2016
Probably meant to say "insidious."
Simon SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
A bit of personal perspective from my own suicide. Which was prevented when a friend randomly stopped by to see why I had not shown up for work and ended up calling the police to break into my apartment.

I wanted to take my own life because I could see the hurt and damage my depression was causing to those around me that I love. I came to the conclusion that a few days or weeks of mourning was better than the years they had already suffered through and the many years ahead that they would suffer.

In the institution I discovered that most just repeat what they know is wanted from you. Between ourselves we talked much more openly and mostly it was for the same reason. Generally we were people that cared so much for the feelings of others we wanted to stop the pain we were causing them and at that moment the best way seemed to be to take our own life because we understand how much effort it takes to love us.

To me it is obvious that she loved her family and fiancee, she had gone through difficult times with her mothers possible mental troubles and did not want her family and possible future children to have to go through what she had seen.
Ron NOVEMBER 19, 2015
Simon, I'm glad your friend stopped by that fateful day. I'm glad you're coping better with your challenges now. I'm glad you're here. best regards, Ron
ANTICRIME MAY 21, 2016
WHEN a loved one dies, the pain of their loss remains with a person for the rest of their lives; they only learn to COPE with it over time, my friend!
Karenna NOVEMBER 30, 2015
The meaning of the word "insipid " is given as weak....this coffee is insipid is an example of its use.
CJL NOVEMBER 9, 2014
As well intentioned your thought of wanting to talk to these people before they jumped may be, Nathan Joseph, mental illness and depression is far more insipid than just something as mundane as needing a friend. Evelyn was obviously loved by many. She was to be married. She had siblings and a father in her life. However, it seems to me, the relationship her mother had with her family (she probably had depression as well) and the subsequent abandonment by her mother created some deep wounds that were never addressed and led to her taking her life. Depression is a terrible sickness and it breaks my heart when I hear people vilify people who take their lives as “selfish or coward”. There is nothing selfish or cowardly about taking your life. I believe that people who commit suicide think they are doing what is best for those who will be left behind because living with them in their current state of mental health is doing their loved ones a disservice.
pattyperry6711patty perry MARCH 26, 2015
i think this was very nice of you,at least your willing to try,nothing wrong with that,if she did need a person to talk to,and you happened to be there,i bet you would have made a huge differance in her sad life,as for what the person replied to you about, @mar saying it wouldnt make any differance,how do you know that? you cant know that,so nathan,if you ever do get another chance to help anyone,i hope you do,and not listen to people like this commenter underneath you here,please help the person ok? thank you
martyn NOVEMBER 22, 2015
Nathan Joseph, your gesture of friendship is sincere and touching, but sadly it takes more than just a friend. This lady HAD friends and family; being engaged to be married should have been one of the happiest times in her life, and yet she chose to go up the building, write her note....and jump. She knew there was no turning back - it was final.
Her incredible self-loathing is obvious in her suicide note - "destroy my body", "don't have a Remembrance service for me". It is chilling reading those words, because they are the words of someone determined to self-destruct.
I agree that this photo is powerful in the contrast of her serenity amid the absolute carnage around her, but I find it unspeakably sad that her final wish was not granted: “I don’t want anyone in or out of my family to see any part of me" - her she is, 68 years later, still being seen by anyone who has internet access. Shame also on Life magazine to publish that photo just a few days after her death - a despicable attempt to make money from a family's tragedy.
Ratstar NOVEMBER 25, 2015
Hi Martyn, a friend showing up at the right time can prevent suicides. You are right, though, in saying that suicidal people can be surrounded by loved ones yet still prefer to die. What they hAve is a loss of hope aND a sense of isolation, a poor self image, a feeling that no one will care, a perception that they are a burden to loved ones. What a real friend can do is to see through the happy facade, and delve deeper; or to be caring without having expectations. It's not easy.
Unkown JANUARY 14, 2016
Thank you for your comment toward this tragic accident. You helped me understand that events like these can happen anytime, but for us to prevent these "accidents" we got to observe ourselves and see what it is that truly means to live.
Shirley JUNE 6, 2016
This is so true, but sometimes not even a friend can help. People need to be more aware of the person who is going to commit suicide because most of the time they start dropping small hints..be aware.
Brian JUNE 6, 2016
Some examples. If someone starts selling all of their possessions be aware they might be planning a suicide.

Or if you know someone that is always down in the dumps, maybe they even talk about suicide. All of a sudden they do a 180 and are the happiest you've seen in a long time or maybe even ever. That's because they put a plan in place to kill themselves and they now know that soon enough they would not be suffering much longer.

Just trying to pass along info that might help someone help someone.
Jeff Hayes SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
My mother worked as a psychiatric nurse the last 20 years of her career, mostly as the shift charge nurse on the various units (locked or unlocked) at our local regional hospital (about 500 beds). As such, she knew hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of patients during that time, and worked with every psychiatrist in our county of roughly 215,000 people as they treated patients in the hospital.

Patients varied from the seriously depressed to full-blown schizophrenics and others with serious mental illness. One thing stood out most in her experience, however -- something she discussed at length with the doctors, who had a theory I believe to be true. That thing was that those who were considered suicidal -- mostly the seriously depressed -- might talk about suicide and their desire to commit it quite a bit, yet not actually do it, or at least not successfully, during the times they appeared most distraught. However, many of those who eventually DID kill themselves would suddenly seem to be "doing much better" just before they did it. They would quit crying and acting so sad and become calm and often seem to be feeling much better. The fact was that they WERE feeling much better because they had resolved to REALLY kill themselves, and usually to not attempt a method that might not work.

The theory is that once someone like that has finally resolved to commit the final act, he or she feels a powerful sense of relief that the internal turmoil and pain will finally be over. He or she no longer feels the conflict between living and dying, rather feeling a great sense of peace that all the pain will soon end. This often fooled the doctors and nurses into thinking the patient was no longer suicidal (it's also possible part of the reason for their demeanor WAS to remove suspicion they may kill themselves). At any rate, in many cases it was only AFTER the patients began to seem "much better" that they actually killed themselves. I think this happened so often that the doctors and nurses actually learned to more carefully watch patients who seemed to suddenly seem calm and "happy." However, with our diminishing psychiatric system in America, many of them were discharged after they started to act "better," only to commit suicide at their homes or wherever else was convenient shortly thereafter.

So it's quite true that IF someone truly wants to commit suicide, he or she WILL find a way, and will sometimes very well FOOL those closest to him or her via apparently "happy" behavior. Some -- like the late Robin Williams -- make no threats at all. They internalize all their suffering and never indicate outwardly just how bad they feel until they suddenly end up dead by their own hand.

Depression is a cruel master (I'm on several anti-depressants, myself, and have been severely depressed before, although never suicidal -- although I've thought about it at times). It may be possible to help the severely depressed and prevent some suicides via the right types of intervention -- both personal and medical. But anyone who seriously wants to commit suicide WILL. Based on the report by McHale's fiance of their final morning together, she had quietly resolved to kill herself and had decided to hide how she felt so nobody could stop her. We'll never know what was in her mind, WHY she felt she needed to die. But it's clear she did, and showed no outward indications.

So it really IS impossible to stop someone from killing themselves if they are resolved to do so.

Finally, a fellow nurse who worked with my mother on the psychiatric ward (they used to joke that most of them worked there for "free treatment") once tried to kill herself with pills, which didn't work (pills often fail, as people will often vomit up such a large volume of medication before it can kill them). She lived and worked with Mom for several years after that, and once told her that IF she ever decided to do it again, she'd make sure she was successful. NOBODY knew she was suicidal again when one of her kids (who I went to school with) came home one afternoon to find her dead, having put a pistol in her mouth and fired up and back (the most certain method of suicide).

Proper treatment, intervention and medication MAY keep a good many who might commit suicide from doing it. But they have to show signs they're suicidal before anyone can help. Those seriously resolved to do it often won't, and there's really NOTHING anyone can do about that.
Jeff
Maureen NOVEMBER 16, 2014
You're absolutely right about the truly suicidal being more together right before they commit the act of suicide. The plans are in place and they are merely waiting for the best time.

But you're absolutely wrong to suggest this isn't a very well known fact by psychiatrists around the globe. Believe me, this isn't some obscure theory your mother thought up. I first read about it in Psychology Today magazine in the 1970s.
Shawn Marc (@KaliSouthpaw) JULY 19, 2015
Wow, that theory really applies to an old roommate of mine that attempted to commit suicide. He had been divorced, and was really depressed for months, but seemed to be getting better. Then, seemingly out of nowhere he tried to kill himself. The thing I kept thinking was "he seemed to be getting better". I lived with him, and stayed up many nights talking to him and trying to cheer him up. I went out of town for a week or so, and came home to an empty house. Evidently he made his attempt at his parents house.
Luckily, he got help, and is doing well these days. This was almost 10 years or so ago.
mark AUGUST 2, 2015
Jeff well though out and well written, you would not think that so much thought would go into taking your own life, but if one wants to do it right I guess you have to think it through, but your right we'll never know what's going through a disturbed persons mind, having suffered from depression myself I can say that all clear thinking goes right out the window, that's why depression is so debilitating it's like being locked in with nothing but the most horrible thoughts 24/7 and after weeks and months of feeling this way it's hard for your mind to find an exit and just get off and start finding positive things to think of. I really found what you wrote very interesting.
Unkown JANUARY 14, 2016
Thank you for sharing some very informative information of what suicidal people may want you to think, its something I would of never guessed could happen.
byrdgirl SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
She said she "had too many of her mothers tendencies!" Which I assume were not very nice tendencies. Obviously she felt she could not over come them and felt worthless because of them. What a tragedy...!
Shana Lorene JULY 5, 2015
I doubt her claim of "having too many of her mother's tendencies " meant she was a lesbian. I would take that as simply meaning she wasn't ready to marry and raise children, something her own mother wasn't ready for as well. Evelyn herself stated in her suicide note that her fiance was too good for her. Committing suicide for such a reason seems extreme in this day and age, but in the 30's and 40's especially, women were judged almost solely on how they tended to their husbands and raised their children. I think she felt overwhelmed, especially if she was clinically depressed. In which case she almost certainly wouldn't have told anyone.
Jackie SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
I always figured her mother was a lesbian, which was why father got custody of all the children. Maybe Evelyn couldn't face the 'strait' life of the post war years.
Aiamali Ersilly OCTOBER 11, 2014
Or her mother just had a mental illness. Not everything is about sexuality.
johnnyb MARCH 21, 2015
Listen folks, people don't commit suicide because they want to die. They do it because they want the pain to end. This women and countless others are/were hurting inside for whatever multitude of reasons even though they may "seem" just fine. She had it all going for her, on the "outside". But there was much darkness inside.
Charlie BROWN FEBRUARY 2, 2016
I find the picture a bit odd. Unless she was monkeyed with after the fall, she has her mouth closed, her eyes closed, and at appx. 125 mph there appears to be no blood,especially from the skull. I have seen my share of natural and traumatic deaths, and she appears to have been dead for a while before the fall. Any forensic experts out there?
ET APRIL 30, 2016
@Charlie Brown - My uncle was a coroner. I learned a few interesting things from him, but I'm no medical or forensics expert. What I will say and try and keep it as non-graphic as possible is that when you are killed instantly, there is very rarely any blood. It's one reason car accident investigators know someone died instantly on impact: no blood. When the heart stops beating, any orifice or wound bleeding stops. This is why you don't even see a nose bleed from her. This is also why funeral directors have to manually pump blood out of the body to prepare for embalming. Dead bodies don't drain blood on their own even if you cut open a vein.

Also, the woman's outside part of the body stopped from 125mph (or whatever the lying flat terminal velocity is) to 0mph in an instant. However, her insides were still traveling at 125mph and became scrambled, not unlike shaking an egg violently with the shell still intact. Everything inside mixed and turned to a gelatin state (as referenced in the story description): organs, veins, blood. Even if there was a gaping wound, that mass of internal mess would not flow easily.
LA OCTOBER 28, 2014
I was wondering if the mother cheated & maybe so had Evelyn. That could also explain why he got custody. Do the courts see mental illness a reason for divorce or was it back then? It's still a good possibility there was something like that going on. I had not thought of that. Whatever it was the family knew & obviously didn't wish for it to ever become public knowledge. Such a tragic story.
prodeath OCTOBER 11, 2014
And still little to nothing is being done for mental health, very sad.
gene clark FEBRUARY 1, 2015
At least she wore her white gloves. Suiciders, if nothing else, please go out with elegance. We don't want to see blood and gore and ugly bodies. Please dress for success on this singularly momentous occasion...as if your life depended on it.
Joe Y. FEBRUARY 7, 2015
Gene Clark, you sir are an asshole!
jamie FEBRUARY 19, 2015
As for you Joe Y, where can i send to you a pair of white gloves:)
jamie FEBRUARY 19, 2015
Gene Clark, you sir are very funny & very right:)
Deviant Ideas MARCH 2, 2015
Could someone please provide a scientific explanation of why her body "fell apart" when moved, her insides liquified?
Gary Pitts MARCH 8, 2015
often the mechanism of death from the injury is the aorta severs. it has tremendous blood flow through it as it's the main artery carrying blood from the heart to the body. Likely she was full of blood and, when lifted from the car, all of the trauma on her back half would have been more than enough to make her seem virtually boneless.
pam APRIL 23, 2015
Do that mean her arms and legs fall off her body
Negroid MARCH 17, 2015
She didn't want anyone to see her, yet ended up being one of the most popular images of all time.
Walter Harris APRIL 5, 2015
I'm sorry but i don't think it was a suicide. It was most likely a murder. People who willingly jump don't end up up landing on their backs. Plus her ankles don't look crossed but shackled to me.
renae MAY 8, 2015
I thought the same thing but after more research and looking more closely those are her nylons ripped and due to not being connected or held up, they fell and puddles at her ankles.
Rich JULY 8, 2015
How would simply falling through the air tear her nylons? Don't believe the media, they are proven liars.
Brian JUNE 1, 2016
Nylons most likely torn from climbing over things before making the jump.
honey MAY 4, 2015
She specifically said "tell my father I have to many of my mother's tendencies." Which could very well mean she could have had some issues within herself from being whorish, cant maintain a relationship it could be numerous of reasons as to why she would jump but that one thing stuck out to me.
renae MAY 8, 2015
or she suffers from illness and is mentally unstable like her mother.
gaalpi MAY 19, 2015
Who was the owner of the car ?
Tommy JULY 10, 2015
From my family, 2 brothers, and I never wanted to be a father.
One never treated his son with any love. Same way as our dad. The other loses his by sucide. Me? I did'nt want to create
Another me !
Sheryl JULY 22, 2015
What the heck has being a lesbian have to do with anything. Why should that even come into the picture. Some people equate everything to sex. I'm sure this poor women's mental illness was a lot more serious than worrying that she was a lesbian.
Ann AUGUST 11, 2015
A lesbian who had seven children? More likely the father was controlling. He obviously didn't care he was making children with a woman who may of had a mental illness or didn't have the mental fortitude to care for children, neither of which would be her fault. She too was a product of her own childhood. And because she had seven children she's called a whore? What about the father of these children? Double standard. Wow. People have no empathy.
Elliott AUGUST 18, 2015
I wonder what secret she was hiding... And what was her mother like. The world will never know...
S AUGUST 31, 2015
She was such a beautiful woman. I wonder what was going on in her mind.
georgedauphin SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
Suicides occur for various reasons, but often because the person sees no way "out" of a situation -- they feel that the have reached a dead end (no pun intended). We will never know why this woman killed herself and can't speculate. However, I'd be willing to bet something happened between her and her fianc? -- in spite of what he said. The fact that she had just seen him is too significant here to ignore. Either the meeting did not go well, or she realized being married to him was not a future she could bear to live with and saw no alternative. Most women see their future in personal relationships. Most men see their future in financial security and professional success. If there is no future, the solution is suicide. A lot of this has to do with self esteem.
Ratstar NOVEMBER 25, 2015
You are probably right that he said something that set her off, but not in the way we think. He may have said something that to him was harmless but to her was terrifying. Like, "let's get married and have lots of kids..." "I would be so happy to introduce you to my parents." Given what seems to be her unhappy upbringing, she probably felt overwhelmed and incapable of providing the happy family he was hoping for.
jay SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
just listen to the song "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind. It seems you will learn something how to deal with a suicidal attempting person particularly in jumping on a high rise.
DaMAnn SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
I heard she was a Nazi spy, and when they're closing in, she took her own life.. I love it, how some people come up with some funny explanations such as her mother was lesbian and so on..
shlitze OCTOBER 24, 2015
wow she is like an industrial age "Lilleth"
sad that she kept her gloves but lost her nickers, her scarf was like the flowers you throw to the brides maids.
she just didnt want to loose that cherry.
what a thing to do to your other half.
or your family.
big thumbs down.
HarveyJew NOVEMBER 4, 2015
Is the tortured jumper Evelyn McHale or a grieving woman from the same time period? It seems the identity of the leaping ghost, like Evelyn’s reasons for jumping, will remain a mystery.
Warren Pice NOVEMBER 28, 2015
I envy her courage, of just doing it.
martyn NOVEMBER 29, 2015
It is not extreme courage (or cowardice for that matter) that make people end their lives; sometimes they fear Death too. It is when one gets to the point where one fears Life more than one fears Death, that the decision becomes easier.
James DECEMBER 19, 2015
The single most important reason is the statement of "having to many of my mother's tendencies". I'll be anything her mother, and likely her, had bi-polar or borderline. The suicide rates of these people is very high. Partially hereditary and partially by nurture, this woman had the seed of borderline in her which flourished after her mother left the family (setting the tone of abandonment, and therefore being unlovable). I'll also bet anything that at least once, likely many times, either her father or a brother said to her "You're just like your mother". Therefore she constantly felt abandoned, unlovable, and not good enough for anyone, regardless of how many friends she had or how much her fianc? said he loved her - she couldn't ever believe it and it wouldn't ever be enough even if she could. Suicide isn't a rational thought - it occurs at a time and place impulsively, which is hard for some to understand because of the long, rational process it takes to get there (such as her going to the building, writing a note, folding her coat, etc). These are simply small steps that need to be taken to make the hurting go away; the emotional hurt that is always here like a burn on your arm that no one else can see. It is very sad for her and the ones she left behind, but it would seem to her that in her final six seconds of life she was able to relax, knowing that it was finally 'over'.
rb DECEMBER 27, 2015
What puzzles me a bit... Why did she check into the Governor Clinton Hotel to write a suicide note (or just why go to a hotel at all before doing it)?
Bobby JANUARY 3, 2016
She wanted to leave in style!
Julio Dajer JANUARY 2, 2016
Incredible as it might sound, in the Dominican Republic this might be considered a traffic accident since the person was killed by the parked car and maybe the car was illegally parked. Believe me, something like this happened to me when someone ran into my truck that was parked in front of my house in the Dominican Republic and I was charged for causing the injuries to a drunk motorcyclist that ran into the back of my truck.
Trombone JANUARY 13, 2016
difference there is that in your case it was obviously an accident and here it was suicide...

And I guess UN employees have some kind of diplomatic immunity
FahkingSuhpah MARCH 8, 2016
....the note that remained kind of tells what the situation was, especially in a time like the 40's and 50's. "Tell my father, I have too many of my mother’s tendencies."
Rhoads' girl MARCH 12, 2016
I understand why this photo was published, and shown to everyone. The one thing that bothers me is that this woman left a note that she didn't want any remembrance or service of/for her. In some way isn't this photo doing just that ?
DarksMama MARCH 12, 2016
Makes you wonder, what was it about her mother 'tendencies' that sacred her so bad about becoming like her, that she would put on a normal happy face, and then less than 4 hours after leaving her fiance, she would jump to her death?

I'd love to know more about her mother's behavioural patterns, and figure out where she was coming from.
Rhoads' girl MARCH 30, 2016
I'm thinking she means that she wouldn't be faithful to her husband-to-be.
mercaldi APRIL 9, 2016
I love all the amateur sleuthing and psychoanalyzing. There's a
grain of truth in almost every one. I don't quite buy one explanation
though that most people do themselves in to save their loved ones
the pain and grief of having to "deal" with them the rest of their lives.
If that's true, why do so many--like the woman described who shot
herself in the brain through her mouth for her young son to find on
his return from school--kill themselves in a manner which leaves an
indelible and horrific imprint in the minds and hearts of those "loved
ones"? Could it be this is some way of either "getting even", or getting eternal attention? If I were going to do the deed and really
cared about not hurting my loved ones, I'd leave a note that would say, "Do not Enter this room!! Call the police at once and wait outside. This is my last wish, please honor it." I think Evelyn really
did try to protect her family by requesting anonymity in the form of
cremation and for no one to see her body, which is laudable.
Gary MAY 2, 2016
I seriously doubt she was a lesbian. That is just something somebody threw up and like a bunch of hungry fish, people took it. Crazy. There is zero evidence of this. If you only knew a true lesbian...

I would think for the time it was more like her mother may have been abusive and that will hurt a family life and perhaps that is why she did what she did to avoid being abusive.

Just a thought. It is more plausible than her being lesbian. I have one child and she makes me so mad sometimes I am ready to pull my hair out. Seven? There could have been a very short tempered mother here and that could filter down to her children. Down to Evelyn.

Her Mother left (divorced) and all the children stayed with the Father? Sounds like Mother had some very bad issues going here.

"I don’t think I would make a good wife for anybody. He is much better off without me." This points out she did have very strong feelings for her fiance and others. And it looks like she has some secret because she has a reason to believe that she would not make a good wife.

Again, just a thought.
ANTICRIME MAY 21, 2016
AS A 73 year old, long retired cop, I actually was moved to tears at the sight of this historic photo of Evelyn lying dead on the top of a crumpled limousine. ~ I was 4 1/2 years old by May 1st, 1947 and was living in New York at the time of this sad tragedy without ever having heard about it until many years in later life. Evelyn would be about 91 years old at this writing, had she lived.
From what I gather, her fianc? moved to Florida and never married; so one can only imagine how badly this tragedy affected him, mentally.
During my 27 year police career I have had opportunities to talk to depressed suicidal people and what seemed to really get their attention was when I told them to think about their blessings of having sight, hearing, along with the ability to walk, talk, having arms and hands, etc. whereas so many people are not as fortunate but still seek to survive! I always ended with the story of the man who complained because he had no shoes...until he saw a man without any feet!
ALBEIT, Helen did not want to be remembered it seems that the circumstances involved in how she landed and the availability of a photographer to be close by indicates that there was a higher power that just may have granted her death wish but did not want her to be forgotten but instead a pictorial wake-up call for future generations in helping those with mental problems!
Rest In Peace, Evelyn McHale, you are loved by many people who never personally knew you.....to this day and into the future!
Kathy Latimer MAY 21, 2016
Beautifully said. You are not forgotten.
Brian JUNE 1, 2016
You are my Dads age. Probably the best reply on this article. Nicely done!

I can tell you coming from a person who deals with suicidal thoughts daily I recently learned about being grateful for what you have. I would never think something so simple could make a difference. I'm probably more fortunate than 95% of the world, but I want to end my life.

It helps, but it's also not that simple. I'll continue doing what I can to make it through. My loved ones are well aware of my struggles. I'm sorry for anyone who may end up going through it. It's horrible.

People don't choose to be this way. Obviously something is "off".
Kathy Latimer JUNE 1, 2016
Brian, I'm so sorry for you. To have those feelings everyday is sad. I realize that being more fortunate the 95% of the world, doesn't mean a thing, if your tortured in your mind. I pray you can find some peace and happiness.
Brian JUNE 1, 2016
I appreciate it Kathy.

To anyone struggling if you are at the end please sleep it off. You may feel OK enough the next morning.

Meditation is supposed to do wonders. Do whatever possible to keep pushing forward.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem (in some cases).
Bill Baker MAY 29, 2016
Some of the comments here are just ridiculous. No one knows for sure why this young lady did what she did, but it does give you some information, that at the time, the social climate of the country did not pay attention to these clues. I am not a professional in any medical field. Yet this seems similar to a lot of cases that have happened over the years. It seems as time goes on, most of these cases are eventually solved or a decent answer to what happened and why it happened is found.

This is how we learn how to stop things from happening like this again. Reagan destroyed the help for people who had these kind of alarming traits. But the system created, meaning better social observations has yielded plenty of clues as to why something goes the way it does. Nowadays, if someone commits suicide, the reason is usually found. I do believe there was plenty of clues as to why she did this. The biggest clue is about what she said in regards to her mother, and that she had her mother's tendicies. Well, absolutely NO ONE on this site, has asked the question, "Did her father treat her like he would have been treating her mother, as if she WAS her, meaning Evelyn being the wife he lost. Did he scream, belittle, talk down to this woman all the time? Was he telling her that she would not be any good, or she was just like his wife (Evelyn's mother)?

This sounds like a woman that has been literally brow-beaten by a male that she respects, and in this case, her father. My conclusion is that he treated this woman like his wife, based on the hurt he felt after he LOST his wife. Meaning he was using Evelyn as the "whipping girl", and everything he wanted to shout, holler, scream, maybe even hit his now gone wife, Evelyn suffered it in retrospect. I believe that he KNEW she was going to get married to this guy, and told that poor woman that she would wind up just like her mother. True as he said to her, she did it because he gave her no HOPE of being anything DIFFERENT from her mother, which was the wife he loathed. This was an action, triggered by years of verbal abuse in comparing her to her mother. Who could hurt her in regards to that? Only her father could. Evelyn did not want to die. Get that nonsense out of your head. Her last act of defiance against her father was to dress neatly, look very womanly. Even though she did not want her family to know what happened, she KNEW, wearing white gloves would be noted by the public, and this my people was a CLUE to let the public know, that if they ever get to the bottom of this, she did not want to do this. In defiance, she did and did it with a grace, that was evidently not part of her mother's character. If her mother was NOT around, and her father RAISED her, he was the one that had to tell her, "women keep their gloves on". I am SURE, he told her that her mother was not a woman of grace. Did not have the same grace he was teaching her. It was her father's character! HE knew what the white gloves mean't........."You finally have your way Dad, and I hope you enjoy it.".

I think, if this was occurring in today's time, Evelyn would not have given a damn about her father. She would have lived her life and lived it her way. She evidently was not depressed, she was annoyed. He was not going to let that woman live until he was DEAD. But she beat him to death, in the process, transferring all the grief he was dumping on her, about her mother, to GUILT of himself, for causing her to do what she did.

She did not want to die!
Mona Newrose JUNE 5, 2016
Bill Baker,
Finally! I was hoping someone would suggest this. I'm almost certain her father said and did such things. You are wise and observant.
Bill Baker JUNE 16, 2016
Mona...

We all seek to have attention bought to us in different ways. Sometimes we offer no clues. Did you see what I did here, just to get people to even read what I wrote? I started the post with: "Some of the comments posted here, are just ridiculous".

Who am I to say that? Yet it got the attention I wanted, in order to have my post read. Everyone here has an opinion and they are entitled to it, ridiculous or not. Subtle hints like this, can unravel mysteries at times.

In Evelyn's case, the white gloves stood out like an orange growing on an apple tree. It just does not fit. Wearing white gloves before plunging to your death? Seems like a rebellion against a provocation committed on you. The only person I can think of, who could have provoked her, was her father. Someone trying to leave a message, despite what she wrote in the suicide note.
Not let her family know? How could that ever happen? She died. What were the authorities going to do, say she disappeared? No, Evelyn wrote the note to make sure that her family KNEW she committed suicide, and the white gloves were the hint that I am sure, all her brothers knew what it mean't. She beat their father to death's door, so the guilt he had foisted upon her, because she reminded him of his wife so much, was finally dumped in his lap, in the shape of depression, lack of confidence, no feelings of self worth.

I hate the fact, that I could not talk to Evelyn. Yeah, that sounds crazy, but her mind was very, very advanced. That sounds even crazier doesn't it? Oh yeah, this lady was one smart cookie.
I do believe when she jumped, it was just *blank* in her conscious, but freedom in her sub-conscious . When sub-conscious takes over the conscious, there is no realization of what you are doing. Her sub-conscious is projecting freedom, peace, bliss, happiness, that is all she saw when she jumped...not fear. Amazing how the photos seem to imply, this was done by someone very intelligent, huh? To land like that, almost as if sleeping.....fate ruled her landing, in regards to her attitude towards taking her life. Lovely woman for the world to see forever. Evelyn was not the bad person in this tragedy. She was the result.

In her conscious mind, Evelyn was dead well before she even jumped, despite outward signs of happiness.

In death, Evelyn showed this intelligence in a very morbid form. Yes, she left a legacy, in the hint of white gloves for her father to carry, the pain he had been causing her. Brilliant, yet tragic.
Kathy Latimer JUNE 16, 2016
I say Evelyn either would hate us discussing her like this or she is laughing at all the posts, because she's the only one that really knows. It really doesn't matter what happen. But I do like all the ideas and posts. I think we all love Evelyn. I wish someone would write a book about her life, if anyone really knew about her life.

You were so beautiful. I hope you're resting in peace, Evelyn.
Ben Fife JUNE 30, 2016
I think its ridiculous to demonize her father. He was a single father who raised seven kids. He probably did the best he could and was devastated by the loss of his daughter. And as far as understanding suicide. I am suicidal. I've made decisions that are probably going to make me lose everything & everyone I love is going to lose me one way or another. I'd rather have them just lose me once than have to go through it again and again.
Brian JULY 5, 2016
Ben, I just wanted to comment that I've been in a dark spot for the past couple of years. I was 100% convinced I was not going to get any better.

I recently purchased a motorcycle and I have to say this helped me START getting my life back on track.

It may not be a motorcycle for you, but something will do the same thing for you I am sure.

Time truly heals all wounds, it just may take a bit of time for that to happen.

I'd recommend eval‎‎uating what you have done in your life that you truly enjoyed, but no longer do it.

I have not rode in 7 years so my point is go back to things you loved that you might have put to the side for a while.

You can do this!
Bob Cabrera JULY 20, 2016
Kathy Latimer There is book being written and is due out sometime next year about Evelyn McHale.
The author is Lauren Anne Rice, She has done extensive research on Evelyn through contacting her
family and friends that are still around and remember her. The author has obtained many photo and letters
that will also appear in the publication. She did release an original letter from the parents of Evelyn's
fianc? to her father about attending a memorial service for her.
I like many of the folks here have developed an interest in reading the true life story of Evelyn.
Kathy Latimer JULY 21, 2016
Bob, thank you so much for the tip about the book. I will definitely get it, because I feel so bad for Evelyn. She had to be desperately scared of something or so depressed to be able to jump from a building or for that matter, any type of suicide. I guess we all think, when it looks like someone has everything, they really don't or else having it all isn't as important as we think. It will be interesting to see what friends and family have to say. Thanks again.
Bob Cabrera JULY 21, 2016
Kathy Latimer, You're welcome Bob .
Nikola JULY 30, 2016
Her last statement explains everything: "...I have too many of my mother’s tendencies”.
Loyality to family values.
On the scariest possible way.