A former Miss Universe Jamaica finalist, Tyra Spaulding, has been found dead in what police are treating as a suspected case of suicide. Her death has sparked global grief and renewed conversations about mental health awareness, where the World Health Organisation recently warned that suicide remains a leading cause of death among young people.
Spaulding, 26, was an accountant and a finalist in the 2023 Miss Universe Jamaica competition. She was discovered by relatives on Tuesday evening, September 23, according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), which confirmed the case as a suspected suicide on Wednesday.
Her body was reportedly found hanging in her bedroom with a pink curtain tied around her neck, The Jamaica Gleaner reported.
Now, videos of Spaulding speaking candidly about her mental health struggles, widely shared on social media on Thursday, have drawn renewed attention to her earlier remarks.
In one emotional clip, she described fighting constant, intrusive thoughts, “I’m fighting for my life… my mind is trying to kill me. Every day I get up, my mind tells me to go and jump off a building. It tells me to go and overdose on pills. It tells me to go and hang myself.”
In another video, she reflected on how cries for help often go unnoticed until tragedy strikes, “After I’m gone, they start announcing everywhere.”
“People will start to research, they will find these videos, they will say she was trying, she was trying, and then everybody will be sad she’s not here anymore. That is usually how it goes — no one really cares or pays attention. It’s sad that’s the way things are. What else is a person to do?”
The resurfaced clips, now circulating widely on X, have drawn thousands of reactions, with users expressing shock and sympathy over her death.
According to The Jamaica Gleaner, police investigations are ongoing. The report quoted law enforcement sources saying Spaulding’s family members discovered her body and immediately contacted authorities.
Her death has prompted renewed conversations online about mental health awareness and the pressures faced by young people in the public eye.
Meanwhile, global attention continues to focus on the rising toll of mental health crises.
In a recent statement, the WHO warned that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people worldwide.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, speaking in a video post on September 20 ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health on September 25, called for urgent action.
“Noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, include seven of the world’s top ten causes of death, including cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease,” he said.
“In addition, more than one billion people face mental health conditions, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people.”
Dr Ghebreyesus urged governments to prioritise mental health interventions, warning that failure to act “will cost millions of lives and strain economies.”
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