In a world plagued by circumstances as challenging as the current COVID-19 pandemic, political tensions, humanitarian crisis, and other planet-scale events, it remains true that very often, the most striking tragedies are those that happen on a smaller scale.
One of such saddening events was the death of Jessy Paola Moreno Cruz, a thirty-two-year-old Colombian single mother from the town of Ibague, in the western region of Tolima.
In February 2019, she jumped to the river below the La Variante bridge alongside her son, May Ceballos, of only ten years old. Both died in the jump, and their bodies were retrieved later that day.
It was later known that their suicide was due to financial reasons and that they had both been homeless for a while, as onlookers observed the importance of checking in with friends and family members who may be going through a tough time: keep reading as we explore ten facts on the tragic end that befell this little family of two.
10 /10 A Mother's Last Words
After both of their bodies were being brought from the water, the existence of a suicide letter, written by Jessy, came to be known. This letter is the primary document to understand what happened before she took the decision.
It opens with a very revealing passage: “I cannot tolerate the idea that somebody could hurt you because of what I did, I prefer that we leave and forget this world. I have no hope, I have been defeated and humiliated.”
9 /10 Ten Years Prior
The story of Jessy Cruz began ten years before the suicide came to happen, as she gave birth to her only son, little May Ceballos, to a man about whom she would say in the letter that he “left her alone, very alone.”
The disappearance of this past romantic interest from her life resulted in her focusing all her attentions (and her hopes) on her son.
As part of the everyday struggles of raising children as a single parent, Cruz was consequently in dire financial stress.