The lifeless bodies of a New York City couple were found sprawled across the concrete outside of a commercial building in Manhattan on Friday morning, July 28. And nestled within a pocket of both the 53-year-old man and the 50-year-old woman lying there, were notes that attributed their suicide to the financial burdens.
The discovery was made by pedestrians passing through E. 33 Street and Madison Avenue at around 5:45 a.m. Police immediately determined that the couple, identified as Glenn Scarpelli and Patricia Colant, had jumped from the ninth floor of the 14-story building. The letters they left behind directed officers up to their residence, where their 19-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter were made aware of the incident.
Scarpelli and Colant were remembered by neighbors as having been a very close and positive couple who worked together at Scarpelli's chiropractic practice by day and were regulars at local restaurants on their off time. What the community wasn't aware of was the level of desperation they had sunk to over unpaid debts that the courts were knocking on their door for.
According to records, Scarpelli owed $213,000 in federal back taxes and $42,000 to the state. Among his other debts was a $62,000 loan that he was forced to pay back, and while it is unclear what medical expenses he and Colant may have had, they mentioned in their suicide notes that they could no longer afford a doctor.
“WE HAD A WONDERFUL LIFE ... Patricia and I had everything in life,” Scarpelli's note read. “We both have medical issues, we just can’t afford the health care.”
Source: complex.com
