{"id":82618,"date":"2025-08-21T13:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/82618\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T13:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:01:10","slug":"extraordinary-skydiver-32-who-plunged-to-her-death-deliberately-took-her-own-life-day-after-breaking-up-with-her-boyfriend-inquest-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/82618\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Extraordinary’ skydiver, 32, who plunged to her death ‘deliberately’ took her own life day after breaking up with her boyfriend, inquest told"},"content":{"rendered":"

An experienced skydiver deliberately plunged to her death when she chose not to deploy her parachutes during a 15,000ft jump after splitting from her boyfriend, an inquest has heard.<\/p>\n

\u2018Deeply loved\u2019 Jade Damarell, 32, died instantly following a 60-second freefall in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, after penning notes \u2018apologising\u2019 to her family in the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n

The skydiver had completed more than 500 jumps without incident including six on the day before her death on April 27.<\/p>\n

It was initially thought her death was a tragic accident, but it emerged that on the morning of the incident, Ms Damarell had chosen not to wear her GoPro camera, as she usually would, and \u2018made no attempt\u2019 to deploy her main or reserve parachutes, which were both in good working order.<\/p>\n

An inquest at Crook Coroners\u2019 Court, County Durham, this morning heard Ms Damarell had also chosen not to switch on a safety mechanism, known as an AAD, which automatically deploys the reserve parachute if the skydiver is unable to do so.<\/p>\n

In a statement read to the inquest by coroner Dr Leslie Hamilton, Ms Damarell\u2019s mother, Elizabeth, who wept as she watched proceedings via video-link, said her daughter \u2018lived a life filled with achievement; adventure; kindness; generosity of spirit and freedom.\u2019<\/p>\n

She added: \u2018She excelled academically and inspired those around her.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Jade <\/p>\n

Jade Damarell (pictured), 32, a highly-experienced parachutist with more than 500 jumps to her name, died instantly during a skydive in Shotton Colliery, County Durham<\/p>\n

\"Initial <\/p>\n

Initial reports had assumed Jade’s death was a tragic accident. But SkyHigh Skydiving later issued a statement saying that her death was suspected to have been ‘a deliberate act’. Pictured: Jade skydiving on a previous occasion\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

An Inquest today heard Jane’s equipment had not suffered a malfunction during the tragedy. She is pictured (left) with her mother Liz (right) and father Andrew (centre)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Damarell was born in Hong Kong and brought up in Caerphilly, Wales, but had been living in lodgings in Shotton, County Durham, used by skydivers at SkyHigh Skydiving.<\/p>\n

She was previously married to Leeds-based solicitor James Damarell, but the pair are believed to have divorced some time ago.<\/p>\n

It is understood she had been in a relationship with a fellow skydiver, Ben Goodfellow, 26, for around eight months at the time of her death.<\/p>\n

In a brief statement read to the inquest today, Mr Goodfellow said their relationship had ended the night before her death, adding that they \u2018shared a love of skydiving.\u2019<\/p>\n

Bryn Chaffe, co-owner of Sky-High Skydiving, gave a statement in which he said he saw Ms Damarell eating toast in the base’s cafe before she jumped and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n

A report from the British Skydiving Association in the wake of her death said Ms Damarell\u2019s parachutes were in \u2018good condition\u2019 and in her six jumps the previous day all her equipment had worked \u2018as intended.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The deceased would normally wear a camera, a GoPro, but on the day of this incident she was not wearing her camera or AAD,\u2019 the report said.<\/p>\n

\u2018She was asked if her AAD was switched on and she confirmed it was. The deceased would have been in freefall for around 60 seconds or more before hitting the ground.<\/p>\n

\"Keen <\/p>\n

Keen skydiver Ben Goodfellow is understood to have been in a relationship with Ms Damarell for around eight months before her death<\/p>\n

\u2018There was no deployment of the main or reserve chutes. The board believe she did not make any attempt to pull the main or reserve chutes.\u2019<\/p>\n

The report added: \u2018The freefall descent went without incident until 4,000ft when the deceased made no attempt to deploy her parachute and elected to remain in freefall until she impacted the ground.\u2019<\/p>\n

Pathologist Dr James Henry confirmed Ms Damarell\u2019s injuries were so severe she would have died \u2018immediately\u2019 on landing.<\/p>\n

In a statement summarising the case, Detective Inspector Andrew Stephenson of Durham Constabulary said that when Ms Damarell\u2019s phone was reviewed, the lock screen had a note saying \u2018check the notes folder\u2019.<\/p>\n

In there, an officer found notes written at 2.30am to her family \u2018apologising and thanking them for their support\u2019 as well as notes regarding her financial arrangements.<\/p>\n

\"Ms <\/p>\n

Ms Damarell and her ex-husband, James. The couple married in 2019 but are understood to have separated some time ago<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The skydiver had completed more than 500 jumps including six the day before her tragic death<\/p>\n

Recording a conclusion of suicide, Dr Hamilton said Ms Damarell was an \u2018experienced skydiver who had a love of skydiving and it was one of her passions.\u2019<\/p>\n

He added: \u2018On that morning she chose not to activate her safety device, chose not to wear her camera and her parachutes – both main and reserve, which were in full working order – she made no attempt to deploy these during the descent.<\/p>\n

\u2018Did she take her own life? Yes she did.\u2019<\/p>\n

Turning to her family via the video link, he added: \u2018There is nothing I can say to mum and dad in these circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u2018I am so sorry for your loss and can\u2019t begin to think as a parent what it must be like to have lost your daughter in these circumstances.\u2019<\/p>\n

In a statement shared following the inquest, Ms Damarell\u2019s family said: \u2018We acknowledge and accept the conclusion of the coroner’s inquest into our daughter Jade’s death.<\/p>\n

\u2018Once again, we express our sincere thanks to all services involved for the care and compassion given.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our beloved daughter Jade was a brilliant, beautiful, brave and truly extraordinary person. A bright, adventurous, free spirit, she lived with immense energy, passion and love and touched countless lives with her warmth and kindness.<\/p>\n

\u2018By speaking openly and without shame, we hope to contribute to a culture where mental ill-health is met with kindness and support, and where people in deep distress, and those around them, feel seen, believed, and able to reach for support without fear of judgment.<\/p>\n

\u2018We miss Jade beyond words, but Jade’s love, brilliance, courage and light will live on in our family and among all those who knew and loved her.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some stars are so bright, they burn through their time too quickly, but their light never truly fades.\u2019<\/p>\n

For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https:\/\/www.thecalmzone.net\/get-support\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An experienced skydiver deliberately plunged to her death when she chose not to deploy her parachutes during a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[97,59,57,58,6875,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-82618","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-greatbritain","12":"tag-hong-kong","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}