Woman falls to her death at STRS building in downtown Columbus

Woman jumped or was pushed to death in Downtown building, police say

Allison Manning, The Columbus Dispatch

July 16, 2012  |  Updated July 17, 2012, 1:15 a.m. ET

A woman who fell to her death today in a stairwell at a Downtown building where she worked either jumped or was pushed, detectives say.

The woman, whose name has not been released, was found at the bottom of the eight-level staircase by another employee of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio at 11:15 a.m., Columbus police homicide detective Jay Fulton said.

The employee heard a scream and went out into the stairwell, finding the woman’s body at the lower level of the building at 275 E. Broad St., about 90 feet from the sixth floor, from which she probably fell.

“An accidental fall seems improbable,” Fulton said, because the woman was 5 feet 5 and the stairway has a railing that is higher than her waist.

The woman, who lived on the North Side, was in her mid-60s and had worked for the retirement system since 1990, Fulton said. He described her job as clerical.

Fulton said he is awaiting the results of an autopsy that is to be performed on Tuesday, in hopes that it will reveal more about how the woman fell. He said detectives want to look at the woman’s home and talk to her family as well.

Other employees in the building, where about 600 people work, were notified via email about the death, said Nick Treneff, a spokesman for the teachers retirement system. He said the building is considered safe and secure, and a key card is needed to enter the building. Lobby attendants can admit people through the front door.

amanning@dispatch.com 

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Police think woman jumped to her death in Downtown building

Allison Manning, The Columbus Dispatch

Updated July 17, 2012, 4:52 p.m. ET

A North Side woman apparently committed suicide by jumping to her death in a Downtown office building yesterday, a Columbus homicide detective said today.

Detective Jay Fulton thinks Ruth A. Collier, 63, fell about 90 feet after climbing over the stairway railing on the sixth floor of the State Teachers Retirement System building at 275 E. Broad St.

Collier had worked for the retirement system since 1990 and had a clerical job, Fulton said. She was found by another employee at 11:15 a.m. at the bottom of the eight-level staircase.

Fulton said he is awaiting the results of an autopsy but has no reason to believe that she was pushed.

This article may be read online here.