In a chilling turn of events, the streets of New York City were witness to a heart-wrenching incident as a man still wearing his pyjamas was discovered deceased on the pavement after jumping from the top of an upscale hotel.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) swiftly responded to the scene at Columbus Circle in Manhattan on the evening of Thursday 17 August 2023.

At the scene, they found the unresponsive body of the man right outside the Deutsche Bank Center. The individual displayed “injuries indicative of having fallen/jumped from an elevated position,” as stated by the NYPD.

The Deutsche Bank Center is a complex characterised by two gleaming glass skyscrapers, housing an array of attractions including a shopping mall, the prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center concert hall, Whole Foods, and the renowned Mandarin Oriental Hotel. But the towers are also home to a luxury apartment complex that once hosted prominent figures such as model Gisele Bündchen, And Just Like That… actress Cynthia Nixon, and power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

As the investigation unfolded, it became evident that the victim had leapt from the uppermost floors of the Mandarin Oriental—a lavish five-star establishment renowned for its wealthy clientele.

The meticulous work of NYPD detectives unveiled a sequence of events leading to the fateful plunge. It was determined that the individual had “entered the lobby of the hotel, took the service elevator to the top floor, and entered the roof area.” This grim journey culminated in a fall of approximately 750 feet, with the victim landing on the marquee of the hotel.

The consequence of this fall was fatal, as recounted by a building employee who shared: “The marquee cut him in half.”

The identity of the victim remains unknown. An NYPD spokesperson disclosed that the individual appeared to be a male aged between 30 and 40 years old.

Unfortunately, this incident is not isolated. Earlier this year, New York City witnessed a similar tragedy when a Google employee leapt from the 14th floor of the tech giant’s headquarters.