An inquest has concluded that a skydiver who fell 15,500ft to her death in County Durham, UK, took her own life just hours after ending her relationship with her boyfriend.
Jade Damarell, 32, died instantly after hitting the ground at Wrefords’ Farm in Peterlee without deploying her parachute. Coroner Dr. Leslie Hamilton ruled her death as suicide.
Her skydiving club, Sky-High Skydiving, described the incident as “a deliberate act,” stating there was no evidence of negligence on the part of the centre.
The inquest revealed that Jade had broken up with her boyfriend of eight months, Ben Goodfellow, the night before her death. Handwritten notes addressed to her family, left around 2:30am, were later found.
On the morning of April 27, Jade was seen having breakfast by Bryn Chaffe, co-owner of Sky-High Skydiving. He noted that she seemed unusually quiet, but said this was not out of character for her.
Despite having completed more than 500 jumps, Jade made no effort to deploy either her main or reserve parachute. She had also deactivated her automatic activation device, which is designed to release a parachute at a specific altitude.
A report by British Skydiving confirmed that Jade’s equipment was in perfect working order, noting that she had successfully completed six jumps the previous day without any problems.
Her death was attributed to blunt trauma from multiple severe injuries, including a fractured skull. Durham Constabulary confirmed at the time that the incident was not being treated as suspicious.
After the inquest, Jade’s family released a heartfelt tribute, expressing gratitude to the skydiving community for their unwavering support.
They wrote:
“Jade loved skydiving with all her heart, and it gave her so much happiness. Sky-High handled both the tragedy and the investigation with professionalism and compassion, allowing us to grieve together. They even helped us celebrate Jade’s life with a fitting tribute and farewell, ending with her mum, Liz, honouring her memory by taking a final tandem jump.
“Our beloved daughter Jade was brilliant, beautiful, brave, and truly extraordinary. A bright, adventurous, free spirit, she lived with boundless energy, passion, and love, touching countless lives with her kindness and warmth.
“By speaking openly and without shame, we hope to help build a culture where mental health struggles are met with compassion and support — where those in deep distress, and their loved ones, feel seen, understood, and able to reach out without fear of judgment.
“We miss Jade more than words can express. But her love, courage, brilliance, and light will forever live on in our family and in the hearts of everyone who knew and loved her. Some stars shine so brightly that they burn through their time too quickly — but their light never truly fades.”
