Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise

by Peter Barnes
  • Cheslie Kryst, 30, a former Miss USA winner and Extra correspondent, died in Manhattan at around 7:15 a.m. on Sunday.
  • Gary Simpkins of Rock Hill, South Carolina, told the New York Daily News that her death had left him speechless.
  • Kryst jumped from the ninth floor of the 60-story Orion building, where she had an apartment.
  • She was last seen on a balcony on the 29th floor of the complex, shortly after posting on Instagram.
  • She left a suicide note on her computer, according to police sources. “The only person who really knows what happened went off the building.”
Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Cheslie Kryst won Miss USA tiara in 2019, crowned by 2018 winner Sarah Rose Summers | AP

How to get help:
The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.
In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
There is also a crisis text line. For crisis support in Spanish, call 1-888-628-9454.

Cheslie Kryst, the former Miss USA, died early Sunday, according to her family and the New York Police Department, which is investigating her death. She was 30 years old at the time.

Kryst’s body was discovered near The Orion, a 60-story apartment building on Manhattan’s West 42nd Street where she lived on the ninth floor. Around 7.15 a.m., the former beauty queen was spotted on a snow-covered pavement.

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Photo – Daily Mail

Cheslie Kryst was crowned Miss USA in 2019 despite working as an attorney to help alter America’s justice system, as well as a fashion blogger and entertainment news correspondent.

According to investigators, she died after jumping from a Manhattan building. She died by suicide and had several blunt-impact injuries, according to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Brian Branch Price/Zuma Press/Wire rex

The NYPD stated Monday that they will investigate the circumstances surrounding Kryst’s death. He refused to provide any other information. Suicide deaths are often investigated by the police.

Cheslie Kryst’s family wrote in a statement: “We share the heartbreak and deep sorrow of our darling Cheslie’s demise.” Her enormous light, with its beauty and strength, inspired others all around the world. She was a woman who cared, loved, laughed, and shone. “

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Brian Branch Price/Zuma Press/Wire rex

“It’s really awful to be extinguished so quickly,” says the grandfather of former Miss USA, who committed suicide by jumping from a Manhattan high-rise.

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Cheslie Kryst Family | Facebook

To be extinguished so quickly is really awful, “Gary Simpkins, her grandfather, said Monday. It’s hard to believe they’re here one minute and gone the next.’ And you’re well aware that the only time you’ll see them again is when you die. ‘

Cheslie Kryst, one of six siblings, had just returned from spending the holidays in South Carolina with her mother, a former beauty queen, and her brothers and sisters.

Simpkins reminisced about his granddaughter, recalling her contagious laugh and compassion for others.

On Monday, he told the New York Daily News from his home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, that he “felt for other people.”

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
With her grand mother | Facebook

She made an effort to assist others. She was one of the few people who had a caring heart for others.

According to Simpkins, Kryst was a “wonderful person” who was nice and generous.

“She had this infectious laugh,” Simpkins added. It’s still resonating in my head. And I’m not sure. But I’m confident that we’ll make it through. We will, but for the time being, this is heartbreaking. ‘

The news was confirmed by Cheslie Kryst’s bereaved family on Sunday.

The family stated in a statement that they “share the heartbreak and deep sorrow of our beloved Cheslie’s demise.”

Her great light, with its beauty and strength, inspired others all around the world. She was a woman who cared, loved, laughed, and shone. We know Cheslie’s impact will live on as a daughter, sister, friend, mentor, and colleague, whether through her work as an attorney fighting for social justice, as Miss USA, or as a host on “Extra.” But most importantly, as a daughter, sister, friend, mentor, and colleague, we know she embodied love and served others.

Cheslie Kryst wrote a poignant essay last March, only 10 months before she jumped to her death, in which she expressed her worry about “running out of time to matter.”

She talked about being bullied online and how winning Miss USA at the age of 28 made her a target for ageist bullies, but several of her friends claimed Monday that they were shocked by her suicide and had no idea she was suffering from mental illness.

“We know her impact will be felt for a long time.”

Cheslie Kryst, of North Carolina, was a civil attorney who provided free legal assistance to inmates who may have received an erroneous sentence. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a law degree and an MBA after completing her undergraduate work at the University of South Carolina, where she was a track athlete.

Cheslie Kryst previously worked as a correspondent for a Entertainment news program “Extra.”

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Photo – Billie Bush | Instagram

In a statement, the business added, “Our hearts are broken.” “Cheslie Kryst was more than just a supporting character in our show. She was a cherished member of our Extra family who had an impact on the entire team. We send our heartfelt condolences to her entire family and friends. “

Her family’s statement was also added: “Cheslie exemplified love and served others in a variety of ways, including as a social justice attorney, Miss USA, and an EXTRA presenter. But, most significantly, as a daughter, sister, friend, mentor, and coworker, we are confident that her legacy will endure. “

An outspoken supporter of women’s rights

Cheslie Kryst was one of a historic group of five major pageant winners who were all women of color the year she won Miss USA. Kryst quickly clarified that she and her fellow beauty queens were far from token winners because of their race.

It was significant for me to realize that three of the last four Miss USAs were women of color—there was Kara McCullough, there was Deshauna Barber—Kryst told CNN in December 2019.

“No one thought, ‘Oh, that’s enough (black winners),'” she explained. It’s still possible that we’ll be successful on our own. And it makes no difference if you look like the last champion or the last three. You’re the best if you’re the best, and you can win if you’re the greatest. “

Throughout the 2019 Miss USA competition and her reign, Kryst’s values and outlook on life and leadership were revealed. When a judge at a legal competition suggested she wear a skirt instead of pants since judges prefer skirts, she remembered her response:

During a video broadcast during pageant events, Kryst remarked, “Glass ceilings can be smashed wearing either a skirt or pants.” “Don’t tell women to dress differently while you provide serious criticism of men’s legal arguments.”

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
During the Steve Harvey interview of the 2019 Miss Universe Pageant in December 2019 | Getty Images

Kryst started a fashion blog, White Collar Glam, and volunteered for Dress for Success shortly after.

In the final Miss USA round, Kryst was asked if the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements had gone too far in her final question.

She stated, “I don’t believe these movements have gone too far.” “The goal of #MeToo and #TimesUp is to ensure that our country fosters safe and inclusive workplaces. That’s precisely what I want to hear as an attorney, and that’s exactly what I want for our country”.

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Jumped to Her Death from Manhattan High-rise
Billy Bush and Cheslie Kryst on Extra in November 2019 | Getty Images

Before her death, the former Miss USA winner shared an Instagram Photo. She added, beside a photo of herself, “May this day bring you rest and peace,”

‘Always dancing in between takes’. This comes as a huge surprise to everyone. We are left with a sense of betrayal because we know that the best was yet to come for this exceptional person. Rest in peace, Chez.’

This poem say all about her…

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.


Still I Rise – Maya Angelou

“Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts—not to hurt others.”

George Eliot


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