Columbia Frosh Leaps to Death From Dorm

A Columbia University freshman leaped to her death from a window of her 14th-story dorm before classes even began. Martha Corey-Ochoa, valedictorian of a Westchester high school and the daughter of a graduate of the Ivy League school, died just two hours after a meet-and-greet at the dorm, officials told the New York Daily News. She was found on the pavement by two freshman, and was declared dead a short time later at a local hospital, reports the Columbia Spectator.

She had planned to major in English and math. Officials don't believe the fall was accidental. It's not clear what triggered the suicide, though Corey-Ochoa was known to have psychiatric problems, sources tell the News. The death has rattled a campus packed until yesterday with giddy freshman. The night Corey-Ochoa jumped, Monday, was the first night most freshman were on campus. "We were pretty shaken up," said a student. (More Columbia University stories.)