A debt-ridden mother killed herself and her 10-year-old son by throwing them off a bridge. Radio Cadenal Nacional SAS reported that Jessy Paola Moreno Cruz, 32, held the boy, May Ceballos, in her arm as she flung them from the 330-foot high La Variante Bridge in Ibague, Tolima, central-western Colombia despite firefighters pleading with her for over an hour not to jump.
- Everyone tried to save their lives. According to Seguimiento, firefighters, police officers, a psychologist, and a doctor were on the scene working to convince Cruz to step away from the bridge edge and give life another chance. Even her son begged her not to jump, but she ignored his pleas as she killed them both. “They begged her not to do it and tried to convince her to stop but sadly she took the fatal decision,” said firefighter Rafel Rico.
- Cruz had experienced serious financial difficulties lately. She was plagued by debt and so short on money that she and her son had been evicted from their home because she didn’t have enough money for rent. Ibague mayor Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo told Radio Cadenal that Cruz was being harassed by debt collectors but couldn’t pay up.
- Debt should never lead anyone to take their own life. As Jaramillo said, the trend of people being “extorted, intimidated, blackmailed or threatened with death” is “something that is monstrous and is occurring in Colombia as a whole” and needs to stop. “This ends up hurting or even costing the life of the person… this lady, who was a single mother, unfortunately was desperate at the pressure of [paying back] debts,” he added.
- The investigation into their deaths continues. Authorities continue to look into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Cruz and her son. However, regardless of what they uncover, this was a senseless tragedy that could have been avoided.
