Shock and sadness have hit the Jamaican and pageant community after 26-year-old Tyra Spaulding, also known as a former contestant of Miss Universe Jamaica 2023, was found dead at home.
Police confirmed Spaulding’s body was discovered on Tuesday evening by relatives. The Jamaica Constabulary Force said the case is being investigated as a suspected suicide while pending the results of an autopsy. As WicNews reports, Spaulding was found hanging in her bedroom with a pink curtain tied around her neck.
Despite her radiant smile seen on social media and her role as a dedicated accountant that inspired many. The 26-year-old had reportedly been struggling with her mental health.
As on August 15, weeks before her death Spaulding took to her Instagram and stated that she was “going through hell”, comments that were taken lightly. The comments were later followed by a YouTube video where she candidly spoke of her struggles with suicidal thoughts.
In the YouTube video she discussed her experiences with depression and suicidal ideation, a cry for help that now carries heartbreaking weight.
“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.”
A Community In Mourning
Miss Universe Jamaica 2023 winner Jordanne Lauren Levy wrote on her Instagram Story, “My heart is heavy as I learned of the passing of a fellow contestant from the Miss Universe Jamaica family. I’m holding her loved ones in close prayer during this unimaginable time… Rest in peace Tyra.”
Tika Rutherford, another contestant from the 2023 cohort, also shared on her Instagram story that words cannot begin to describe the feeling that the news of the passing of Spaulding has brought to the pageant community. Lastly expressing to Tyra that she was loved and she wishes that she knew that.
Elsewhere, Spaulding has been grieved and remembered as “a bright, brilliant, and motivated” woman. On the Official Miss Universe Jamaica Instagram page, a tribute mentioned “Her light, grace, beauty and kind spirit touched every life she encountered, leaving memories that will never fade.”
Spaulding was among the 30 finalists pageantries who competed for the crown and title of Miss Universe Jamaica two years ago.