Family speak of their shock after young woman jumps to her death

8:13pm Monday 30th June 2008

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THE family of a successful young woman who jumped to her death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco after surfing suicide websites have spoken of their heartache.

Olivia Crowther, 23, grew up in Cranham and had recently gained a 2.1 in English from Sussex University.

She was planning a career in publishing and had been temping in London.

But last week she flew to the US and checked into a hotel in San Francisco. Her body was found by the California Highway Patrol the next day.

Parents Mark and Philippa Crowther said her death last Wednesday was a complete shock, adding that their daughter had no history of depression.

Her uncle, Robert Leader, said the only unhappiness in her life was a medical problem that had become 'all-consuming'.

Doctors had failed to cure the complaint she had suffered with for 12 months, although there was no indication it could drive her to kill herself, he said.

Her younger sister Hannah, 22, checked Olivia's computer and found a list of websites dedicated to suicide on her browsing history.

In a joint statement, Mr Crowther, 56, a chemical engineer, and Mrs Crowther, 53, an occupational therapist, said: "She had recently started working in London where she hoped to have a career in publishing and seemed to be enjoying her life there.

"She had been experiencing some health problems recently but had never had any particular history of depression except for the usual emotional ups and downs of young people growing up in the 21st Century.

"She had always been a private and quiet person but to us she was a loving daughter who seemed to be making her way in the world and to whom we spoke and who we saw on a regular basis.

"What has happened has come like a bolt out of the blue and has desolated us, as her parents, and her younger sister Hannah. We shall all miss her very much and life for us will, I'm afraid, never be the same again.'' Mrs Crowther's brother, Mr Leader, 61, said: "Mark, Philippa and her friends grew concerned because Olivia kept in touch fairly frequently and yet no one had heard from her for a while.

"They got into her flat and found it was surprisingly tidy, because she wasn't the tidiest person in the world. They looked at her internet history and discovered she had flown to America.

"The first thought was that she had just gone walkabout, as young people do, but when they looked more closely down the internet history they found these suicide sites showing tall buildings and bridges. They were very worried then."

Olivia's funeral will held in Cranham.

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