According to Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory, Leonardo Torres took his own life when he jumped out of the 11th floor window of the apartment building located at 6131 Grand Ave.
Gregory said that the case has been officially ruled as a suicide.
"Once it has been declared as a suicide, the case is closed," Gregory said.
According to Gregory, North Bergen police responded to the scene that morning of a man who had apparently fallen from the window of the North Bergen Housing Authority complex.
"When police arrived, they found his body on the north side of the building," Gregory said. "Apparently, no one actually saw it happen. No one saw him go out the window. The window was open and it looked as if he had either fallen out or jumped out."
Further investigation led to the conclusion that Torres had indeed jumped out of the window to his death.
Torres did not reside in his mother's apartment. He lived in another Housing Authority complex, located at 309 62nd St., which is right around the corner.
Torres' mother had been hospitalized before he committed suicide.
Gregory would not comment on whether he knew of Torres' mental state at the time of the fatal leap.
"Nothing indicates that there was a note, so we don't know of a reason," Gregory said. "God knows why people want to jump out of windows."
Gregory said that Torres' body was taken to the New Jersey State Medical Examiner's office in Newark, where an autopsy was performed to determine whether Torres was under the influence of mind altering or other toxic substances at the time of his demise.
"Those tests take a while," Gregory said. "The autopsy results are not final."
Gregory said that investigators interviewed members of Torres' family, but those findings will not be made public.
"I can't say what was said in those interviews," Gregory said.
However, some neighbors who requested anonymity claimed that Torres was a troubled man who was upset about his mother's recent illness.
"He was a decent man but he was upset and worried about his mother," said a man who wanted to be identified only as Hector, but claimed to be Torres' friend. "Leo also had a tough time keeping a job lately and that got him upset as well. I know he was very depressed. I wish there was something I could have done to help him. He never bothered anyone."
"Leo wanted to make sure that his mother would get better," said another friend who wished to be known as Judy. "When he knew that she wasn't getting better, he got very upset. I saw him the other day and I was really afraid for him. This is awful."
Gregory said that the North Bergen police did a fine job of gathering the information, but it was a clear-cut case of suicide.
"That's what it looks like and that's what we're going with," Gregory said.
Post a Comment