The woman who fell 130 feet during Ohio State University’s commencement ceremony was the mother of a graduating student, it has emerged.
Larissa Brady, 53, was pronounced dead around noon Sunday just outside Ohio Stadium in Columbus after falling from the stands to the sidewalk below.
Brady, from Woodstock, Georgia, fell near the stadium’s clock tower as graduates filed in for the ceremony. Her death is being investigated as an apparent suicide, according to records from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office.
Commencement went ahead without mention of what happened, but some students and others at the ceremony were visibly upset after the fall.
A university spokesperson said Ohio State has contacted all graduates and employees who volunteered upon graduation to offer counseling services.
According to the commencement program, Brady’s daughter received her bachelor’s degree during the ceremony.
Larissa Brady, 53, of Woodstock, Georgia, plunged 130 feet (41 meters) to her death Sunday near Gate 30 of Ohio Stadium (pictured) in Columbus during the Ohio State University spring commencement ceremony
Many students did not know about the tragedy until after the event as they walked past the area where Brady fell, which had been cordoned off by police (photo)
Brady fell near the stadium’s clock tower as graduates filed in for the ceremony. Her death is being investigated as an apparent suicide, according to records from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office. Officers are pictured outside Ohio Stadium on Sunday afternoon
Emergency services were called around 12:30 on Sunday afternoon after Brady fell from the stands at the football stadium.
“I need medics and some officers at Gate 30 (of Ohio Stadium)… one has fallen out of the stadium,” the caller told the 911 dispatcher.
The investigation into how she fell from the stadium continues, but Ohio State Police do not suspect foul play and believe the fall was not accidental, university spokesman Ben Johnson said Tuesday.
Brady spoke to her daughter as she entered the stadium, an investigative report from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office obtained by The Columbus Dispatchhas revealed.
She then went into the stands with her husband and 12-year-old son to watch the start.
After sitting down, Brady told her family she wanted to move to a higher part of the stands, according to the report, and her family lost sight of her.
Witnesses told police that Brady then went to the last row of benches in section C30 and climbed over the concrete wall of the stadium, the coroner’s report said.
Emergency services were called around 12:30 on Sunday afternoon after Brady fell from the stands at the football stadium
Part of the land outside the stadium was cordoned off following the tragic incident
The person fell from the stands just as graduates rushed into the stadium through one of the tunnels
Police are pictured in an area closed off from the public
Brady suffered from mental health issues and reportedly attempted suicide at least twice before. Her husband also told investigators that she had been “non-compliant” with her medications.
Neither university officials nor the commencement speakers, including social entrepreneur and OSU alum Chris Pan, referred to the incident during the ceremony.
Many students did not know about the tragedy until after the event as they walked past the area where she fell, which had been cordoned off by police.
The person fell as students were walking into the ceremony at the campus’ football stadium – and many did not know about the tragedy until after the event.
Johnson, the OSU spokesman, issued a statement to the media on Tuesday confirming the incident.
“Ohio State mourns the death of Larissa Brady, a family member of one of our graduates,” he said. “Our thoughts go out to her family and friends at this exceptionally difficult time.”
The university has since contacted all graduates and employees who volunteered at the ceremony and offered counseling services, Johnson added.
Neither university officials nor the commencement speakers, including social entrepreneur and OSU alum Chris Pan, referred to the incident during the ceremony. The photo shows graduates during Sunday’s commencement
University President Ted Carter speaks at the Ohio State Spring 2024 commencement on Sunday, but made no mention of the death
By the time the ceremony was over, students were seen leaving the ceremony as they walked past a cordoned off area where the body had fallen
Witnesses recalled seeing the person fall just as graduates entered the stadium in the southeast corner through a tunnel usually used by football players during OSU home games.
A reporter for the Columbus Shipping said people in the stands those who had seen the fall were visibly upset.
On social media, those at the ceremony claimed that the person who fell did so on purpose.
‘News and campus keep saying ‘fell’, witnesses say ‘jumped’. There was no yelling, no shouting, they jumped,” wrote a TikTok user named Lexi.
“They’re not 100% sure, but witnesses said the person jumped from what I heard,” Chelsie added. ‘I know people who have seen and heard it. Terrible for everyone involved.
‘I was there, I worked there today and heard it an hour after it happened. They just kept going with the day as if nothing had happened,” said another social media user, Kellie.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Franklin County Coroner’s Office for comment.
For confidential help or support, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.