Friends and family of the woman who jumped to her death are stunned, expressing regret that they perhaps could have been a listening ear had they known she needed help.
“[We’re] so sorry [that] we failed you. We are so sorry… [We] passed you everyday and didn’t know you were hurting,” Andica Miller, a cousin lamented in a social media post.
Another cousin, Cari Forbes joined in the chorus, “My cousin, I can’t stop crying…It’s like we failed her.”
Friends have identified her as 38-year-old Chrishna Stuart, affectionately called, “Butta.”
Stuart, a security guard at the Cove, Atlantis, was found dead in waters around Paradise Island on Sunday after witnesses near the eastern area of Potter’s Cay Dock alerted police that a woman was perched atop the Sir Sidney Poitier bridge and jumped into the waters.
A boater sailed out into the waters to retrieve her, but she was pronounced dead.
Trevor Wilson pulled her from the water. The look on her face still haunts him.
“Even though I don’t know her, this will be a face I never forget. The look she had on her face when I pulled her face out of that water…”
Stuart is a mother and is married.
“We love you Butta…my Butta. No words just tears,” Perry Bethel another relative, wept.
Coworker Giovanni Hanchell said he remembered her with a smile on her face. “This right here hurt me because she was always happy.
“My heart is broken.”
Friend Erica Corneille remembers her as a “humble soul and loving person.”
Miller hopes people will become their brother’s keeper. “Check on those family and friends that distance themselves. That call or text can go a long way. Let’s get back to uplifting each other rather than tearing each other down. You never know what silent battles people are fighting.”
A motive for the suicide remains unknown.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, call the Bahamas Crisis Center at 326-0121. Or speak to a trusted friend or clergyman.