Domestic Violence Victim Commits Suicide

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The woman who died in an apparent suicide Thursday night was a vocal victim of domestic violence, who used social media to share her story.

Jared Higgs tells us the woman sent a troubling voice note to a friend less than an hour before her death.

Relatives tell Our News the woman who was found dead in an apparent suicide at the Landshark Hotel is 25-year-old Carissa Culmer, the mother of a two-year-old boy.

According to police, it was around 8pm when they were called to the motel on Cable Beach. There, they were directed to an upstairs room where they say Culmer was found hanging by the neck in front of her young son.

Our News spoke to Culmer’s best friend of 18 years, 28-year-old Rosana Cooper, on the phone.

Cooper says she got a troubling message from Culmer at around 7:30 on thursday evening. In it, Culmer can be heard sobbing, and telling Cooper who her two-year-old son should be left with.

Culmer’s story was well known. An orphan who grew up in foster care, she was a vocal victim of domestic violence.

A video she published on her Facebook went viral in November, and resulted in her being interviewed by members of the media, and recognized in the Senate by that Chamber’s President, Lashell Adderley.

Culmer’s death thrust her story back to the forefront of the national conversation on domestic violence, with her original video being widely shared. Many suggested that it was too late to share the video, with Culmer now deceased.

During her life, Culmer slammed the police and government’s approach to domestic violence victims. Her best friend said there’s no doubt that her lack of family support contributed to the mental health challenges she struggled with.

Culmer’s son is in the custody of the state until next of kin is determined.