An experienced skydiver, Jade Damarell, 32, died after falling 15,500ft into a field in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, on April 27, 2025. She suffered fatal blunt trauma injuries. Investigations were ongoing, and on Thursday, the coroner, Leslie Hamilton, confirmed it was deliberate.
Jade Damarell was an experienced skydiver with more than 500 jumps to her name.(Facebook/Jade Damarell)
Damarell, from Caerphilly in Wales, had taken part in more than 500 jumps during her skydiving career and had completed six dives the day before her death, according to a report by The Guardian.
Deliberately disabled safety device:
At Crook Civic Centre, evidence revealed she had ended her relationship the night before her final jump.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, the couple had been dating for over six months and lived at a property rented to parachutists near the airfield for several months.
“The two of them were inseparable. They spent all their time together,” a friend told the Daily Mail.
On her last dive, she deliberately left her main parachute unopened, despite it normally being deployed at 5,000ft, and switched off a backup device that would have opened it for her.
Investigators later confirmed that both pieces of equipment were working properly.
Police evidence showed that Damarell normally wore a camera during her skydives but had decided not to use one on that day.
Detective Inspector Andrew Stephenson of Durham Police told the inquest that she had left instructions on her phone about how to access it after her death.
Notes written to her family were found on the device, in which she apologised, thanked them for their support, and provided details of her finances, The Guardian reported.
After the inquest, her family thanked the skydiving community, noting they felt comforted by how admired and deeply loved she had been.