Christine Chubbuck (televised suicide in 1974)

[rph3664]

I had never heard this story until last night and stumbled onto it while web surfing. She was a TV news reporter in the Miami area, and shot herself on the air while doing a live interview and died a few hours later.

At age 30, she had never had a boyfriend and had a lot of difficulty making friends, and the descriptions of her personality suggest that she may have had Asperger's Syndrome. Her journals indicated that this was the cause of her ongoing depression.

Does anyone remember this story?

[Notknowingall]

I remember this story from back then. The woman suffered from severe depression. About 3-4 weeks before her death she started doing research on a feature about suicide. The police had told here how most suicides were committed by shooting in the head with a .38. She had even joked with her boss about doing it on the air.

[rph3664]

Originally Posted by Notknowingall

I remember this story from back then. The woman suffered from severe depression. About 3-4 weeks before her death she started doing research on a feature about suicide. The police had told here how most suicides were committed by shooting in the head with a .38. She had even joked with her boss about doing it on the air.

Back then, people didn't know as much about depression and suicide as they do now. If someone made a joke like that now, the police would probably take her to the nearest psychiatric facility, and there wouldn't be anywhere near the stigma that there was back then. And nowadays, the treatments are much more effective and humane.

for victims of mental illness, then and now.