It is alleged that a mother who jumped to her death with her two children from Niagara Falls was suffering from postpartum depression at the time of the tragic murder-suicide.
Chianti Means, a 33-year-old woman, jumped from the Luna Island guardrail with her two kids, Roman Rossman, 9, and Mecca Means, four months. She pushed them off the ledge and jumped after them.
It was also gathered that Means made social media posts about her split with her daughter's father, in which she hinted at her sadness and regret before the murder-suicide.
Her cousin, Bierra Hamilton has now revealed that the young mom was suffering from postpartum depression.
'Understand this - postpartum [depression] is very real and needs a cure,' Hamilton told the New York Post. 'Her death wasn’t over a man. My cousin was silently fighting depression alone.'
Hamilton has taken to Facebook to defend her beloved cousin, responding to people spreading false information about the situation.
She wrote: 'Diamond Scott did not end her life over no man. Let's just be clear. It's no evidence of that.
'YALL BE LOUD AND WRONG.'
Before her Saturday discussion with the Post, Hamilton wrote on Facebook that her family did not know the 'real reason' for Means' actions.
'I am literally sick to my stomach and I can’t even deal with the emotions I am feeling. Just know her and her children are dearly loved by me and my children.
'My cousin had a beautiful soul,' Hamilton told the Post. 'She loved her children and her family very much. I never had a bad memory with her.
[She was] so full of life and wisdom. She and her kids will be missed so much.'
Officials have said the plunge was 'intentional.'
State Park Police said based on the reviewed security footage capturing the series of events, Roman was the first to go over the railing, then Mecca and Means at around 9pm.
State Police Public Information Officer Trooper James O'Callaghan said that it did not appear as though the mom was chasing after her children at the time they plunged to their deaths.
Means, who lived in Niagara Falls with her family, worked as a domestic violence counselor, according to her LinkedIn profile.
On Friday, loved ones hosted a candlelit vigil to mourn the untimely deaths.
The bodies of Means, Roman, and Mecca have not been found by police - and they may never be because 3,610 tons of water rage every second at the waterfall.
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