A relative of the mother who jumped from Niagara Falls with her children in an apparent murder-suicide revealed the harrowing reason behind her actions.
Chianti Means, 33, stepped over the Luna Island guardrail with her two children, Roman Rossman, 9, and Mecca Means, four months, before pushing them off the edge and jumping after them.
Rumors surrounding the Oct. 28 deaths grew out of social media posts from Means about her breakup with her daughter’s father, in which she expressed grief and regret.
But her cousin, Bierra Hamilton, claimed that heartbreak was not the motive behind Means’ actions. She claims the mother suffered from postpartum depression.
“Understand this – postpartum [depression] is very real and needs healing,” Hamilton shared New York Post. ‘Her death was not over a man. My cousin was silently fighting his depression alone.”
Mother Chianti Means, 33, who jumped from Niagara Falls, pushed her two children away first, according to a report
The mother of two stepped over the railing of Luna Island on Monday evening, with her two children Mecca and Roman
Hamilton has taken to Facebook to defend her beloved cousin – who also went by the name Diamond Scott – in response to people spreading false information about the situation.
She wrote, “Diamond Scott didn’t end her life because of no one. Let’s be clear. It’s not proof of that.
“You guys are loud and wrong.”
Before her Saturday conversation with the Post, Hamilton wrote on Facebook that her family did not know the “real reason” for Means’ actions.
Other friends and family members are reeling from the tragedy.
“You really never know what someone is going through….RIP,” Niesha Eukeya wrote.
Mitch Molina said, “I can’t even bear to write a post about her and share memories.
Means’ cousin, Bierra Hamilton, revealed why the mother faced death with her two children
Means, along with her two children, are believed to have crossed the ‘safety guild rail’ on Luna Island at around 9pm on Monday evening (stock photo of the rail)
‘I literally feel sick to my stomach and can’t even deal with the emotions I’m feeling. Just know that she and her children are deeply loved by me and my children.
“My cousin had a beautiful soul,” Hamilton told the Post. “She loved her children and her family very much. I never had a bad memory of her. [She was] so full of life and wisdom. She and her children will be greatly missed.”
Officials have said the dive was “intentional.”
State Park Police said based on the reviewed security footage that captured the series of events, Roman was the first to go over the railing, followed by Mecca and Means around 9 p.m.
State Police Public Information Officer James O’Callaghan said it did not appear the mother was chasing her children as they plunged to their deaths.
Means, who lived with her family in Niagara Falls, worked as a domestic violence counselor, according to her LinkedIn profile.
On Friday, loved ones hosted a candlelight vigil to mourn the untimely deaths.
Means worked as a domestic violence counselor and lived in Niagara Falls
The bodies of Means, Roman and Mecca have not been found by police – and they may never be.
Many of those who jumped to their deaths or accidentally fell into Niagara Falls were never found at the bottom of the waterfall, where 3,610 tons of water rush over it every second.
Some are pushed far from the falls by the raging currents, with one man falling to his death discovered years later 140 miles away in Lake Ontario.