In a most tragic incident coincidentally occurring during Mental Health Awareness Month, a former African-American Playboy model has jumped to her death, taking her 7-year-old son with her.
The former Miss November Stephanie Adams vaulted from the 25th-floor window of a New York City hotel Friday morning.
Some hotel employees of the Gotham Hotel speculate that Adams first dropped her son and then jumped herself. “From what [the guests] told me, they heard a light drop and then a heavier drop,” said one, according to the New York Daily News. “I’m still shook up about it.”
Adams was reportedly in the midst of a contentious divorce from her estranged husband, chiropractor Dr. Charles Nicolai, which included custody of their son, Vincent.
Adams recently asked a judge to allow her to take Vincent to Spain but was denied, said William Beslow, her ex’s lawyer.
“Apparently this was a trip for which there wasn’t going to be a return to the United States,” Beslow said. “The court believed that wouldn’t be appropriate given his [the child’s] relationship with Dr. Nicolai.”
The News reports that the New York City Police Department responded to five domestic disputes involving the couple between July 2017 and March 2018. There was an order of protection in their case, although it was unclear which spouse requested it.
Several months ago, the 46-year-old mother tweeted about domestic violence. It wasn’t her first time.
“The only person who should ever be ashamed in a domestic abuse incident is the abuser,” she tweeted on March 20. “Stand tall and stay strong [...] #NoExcuseForAbuse.” Four days after that tweet, cops responded to a domestic violence call.
“It’s a horrible, horrible tragedy,” said attorney Sanford Rubenstein, who represented Adams in a 2012 lawsuit against the NYPD. “She loved that child.”
“It’s horrible,” hotel guest James Davis agreed. “It’s mental illness. You kill yourself and you kill a child, it’s horrible.”
Police said that Adams left no suicide note.