Area man jumps to death at hospital

A Bloomington man committed suicide at the IU-Bloomington Hospital Wednesday night.

Christopher Owens, 31, was found lying face down in the snow on the north side of the parking garage, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Steve Kellams said.

It is apparent he jumped from the top of the parking garage based on evidence from the scene, Kellams said.

Owens died from blunt force trauma, County Coroner Nicole Meyer said.

Owens was staying at a local halfway house.

“He had some conditions which would lead us to believe it was a suicide,” Kellams said.

Suicides from falls account for less than 3 percent of suicides in the U.S. from 2005 to 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2010 suicide was the 11th-leading cause of death in Indiana, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.

From 2006 to 2010 suicide rates in the United States have remained fairly stable, but have increased slightly each year since 2007.

In Indiana men die by suicide more often than women, according to ISDH. From 2006 to 2010 suicide was the second leading cause of death in people ages 15 to 34, third leading cause in people ages 10 to 14 and fourth leading cause in people ages 35 to 54.

— Dennis Barbosa