Switzerland - 4 Family Members Jump to Their Deaths from Balcony, Montreux, 24 March 2022

[realanastasia]

4 Die After Falling From Balcony in Swiss Resort Town

"Four people, apparently members of the same family, died after falling from the balcony of their seventh-floor apartment in Montreux, western Switzerland, on Thursday, the police said in a statement. A fifth person, a teenage boy, who also fell from the balcony, was hospitalized in serious condition, they said.

The five people have not been officially identified, but the police said they were believed to be members of a family of French nationals: a 40-year-old man, his 41-year-old wife, her twin sister, and the couple’s 8-year-old daughter, along with the sole survivor, the couple’s 15-year-old son."

I cannot imagine how this went down--did the parents panic, throw the young child off the balcony, and then the 3 adults all jumped? I truly, truly hope the sole survivor of the family, the 15-year old son, did not have to witness this tragedy!

 

[realanastasia]

More news reports make it clear this was essentially a mass suicide, and the 15-year old son also went over the balcony but survived. What on earth could have made them so fearful about the apparently-routine visit from Swiss authorities?

A Family Of 5 Mysteriously Jumped Off 7th Floor In Switzerland

"A French family plunged off a seventh floor balcony in the western Swiss town of Montreux on Thursday after officers knocked at their door, leaving four dead and a teenager in serious condition.

The circumstances around the family drama in an upmarket neighbourhood of the picturesque town on the shores of Lake Geneva remained unclear.

But police said the five members of the same family -- a man, 40, his wife, 41, and her twin sister, along with the couple's daughter, eight, and son, 15 -- had gone off the balcony after two officers showed up at their door early Thursday.

All of them except the son died when they hit the ground, while the boy was taken to hospital in serious condition, police said."

 

[realanastasia]

Additional story: "Group jump" from a 7th-floor balcony kills 4, seriously injures 1

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Additional story: "Group jump" from a 7th-floor balcony kills 4, seriously injures 1

This is one of the most bizarre stories I've ever read! It goes against all human drive for survival to jump 7 stories to what is most certainly one's death. And 5 people from age 8 to age 41 all jumped voluntarily?!?

 

[GoBuckeyes]

This is one of the most bizarre stories I've ever read! It goes against all human drive for survival to jump 7 stories to what is most certainly one's death. And 5 people from age 8 to age 41 all jumped voluntarily?!?

This is especially disturbing.

 

[LizzyE]

This is for sure an extremely bizarre one! With morbid curiosity, I have to wonder if there is more to the story than is being reported. Just so many questions.

Not that this would be categorized as a mass suicide in the typical sense (such as Jonestown for example), but those such cases occur after years of indoctrination combined with IMO an element of mental
illness. If I were prone to embrace conspiracy theories, I would be having a field day reading this. Since I am not, I am left was sadness and questions which aren’t really any of my business.

 

[realanastasia]

Mother, father, aunt and girl, eight, die and boy, 15, is injured after leaping from Swiss apartment | Daily Mail Online

“Neighbours said the family was quiet and kept to themselves.

'We heard nothing from their home, the father never said hello in the hallway and ordered many packages almost daily,' neighbour Claude Rouiller told Swiss newspaper Le Temps.

Rouiller said there had been the strong smell of incense coming from the family's apartment in the days leading up to the tragedy, while other neighbours claimed the family were part of a cult.”

 

[LadyL]

so were they wanted for a serious crime and didn't want to do decades in prison? just wondering why the officers knocked on their door

and the 8 year old went voluntarily? I doubt that

mass delusions?

this is bizarre!

ETA: just reading about the cult aspect so it begins to make sense now

 

[realanastasia]

so were they wanted for a serious crime and didn't want to do decades in prison? just wondering why the officers knocked on their door

and the 8 year old went voluntarily? I doubt that

mass delusions?

this is bizarre!

ETA: just reading about the cult aspect so it begins to make sense now

A serious crime? No…

Per the Daily Mail article: “Police said the incident occurred after two officers arrived at the building, across from Montreux's famous Casino, to execute a warrant for the father in connection with the home-schooling of one of the couple's children on Thursday.”

The New York Times reported, “Mr. Sauterel said the local authorities usually send the police to visit individuals who fail to respond to repeated written summons. He said that one of the children living in the apartment was being home-schooled, which is legal in Switzerland, but requires routine checks on the process. When parents do not respond to solicitations for these checks, they can be summoned by the police, he said.”

 

[annpats]

Per the Daily Mail article: “Police said the incident occurred after two officers arrived at the building to execute a warrant for the father in connection with the home-schooling of one of the couple's children.”

Well, that's no reason for mass suicide of the whole family, is it?

Unless with the lack of contact with mainstream society, and potentially being in a cult, I wonder if delusional thinking had occured.
They may have thought they were being 'persecuted' and jumped from their deaths to go to their 'better place'....or whatever their cult believes.

 

[LadyL]

A serious crime? No…

Per the Daily Mail article: “Police said the incident occurred after two officers arrived at the building, across from Montreux's famous Casino, to execute a warrant for the father in connection with the home-schooling of one of the couple's children on Thursday.”

The New York Times reported, “Mr. Sauterel said the local authorities usually send the police to visit individuals who fail to respond to repeated written summons. He said that one of the children living in the apartment was being home-schooled, which is legal in Switzerland, but requires routine checks on the process. When parents do not respond to solicitations for these checks, they can be summoned by the police, he said.”

yes that was speculation prior to reading about the cult allegations as evidenced by my ETA

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The poor 8- and 15-year-old. Their lives must have been so oppressive and lonely. I hope the 15-year-old survives and is given everything possible to heal.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

This is for sure an extremely bizarre one! With morbid curiosity, I have to wonder if there is more to the story than is being reported. Just so many questions.

Not that this would be categorized as a mass suicide in the typical sense (such as Jonestown for example), but those such cases occur after years of indoctrination combined with IMO an element of mental
illness. If I were prone to embrace conspiracy theories, I would be having a field day reading this. Since I am not, I am left was sadness and questions which aren’t really any of my business.

Well said! I can relate on all counts. I'd like to know the why, but it's not really my business.

Does anyone know how the boy is doing?

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Any new developments on this case? TIA

 

[fred&edna]

Any new developments on this case? TIA

I just did a quick Google search to see if the adults had been identified but found nothing. But, maybe there's news outside my simple English search.

 

[borndem]

This is one of the most bizarre stories I've ever read! It goes against all human drive for survival to jump 7 stories to what is most certainly one's death. And 5 people from age 8 to age 41 all jumped voluntarily?!?

My thoughts are the same, Buckeyes.
WTH was going on with this family? Hoping the son is recovering -- at least from his medical injuries. Also hoping he has some loving relatives who will help him with dealing with this sad event. I just can't imagine.
It does seem to be a bit cult-ish, as mentioned in an earlier post here. Paranoia at least... Hope we can learn more.
Healing thoughts for the son, the only one left.

 

[fred&edna]

It's not the same, but I was reminded of a documentary I watched on Netflix "House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths". It's about the mass ritual suicide of 11 members of same family. Even though we learn a great deal about the history, beliefs, social behavior, intelligence and so much more about the family... there were secrets, and it's so unbelievably tragic. 'Might be worth a watch while we await more info on the family in Montreaux, Switzerland.

Burari deaths - Wikipedia

New Netflix series depicts the murder-suicide case that gripped India

 

[Habanero43]

I can't help but imagine that the 8 year old was being held in someone's arms as he or she jumped. That's not suicide, that's murder.

 

[MrsWatson]

Four members of French family kill themselves in Swiss town

SBM

A 15-year-old boy survived the tragedy last Thursday near the casino on Lake Geneva. He remains in a coma in a stable condition in hospital.

A man aged 40, his 41-year-old wife, her twin sister, the couple’s eight-year-old daughter and their son all lived “withdrawn from society”, according to police.

The police said that “since the start of the pandemic, the family was very interested in conspiracy and survivalist theories”. The family lived in virtual self-sufficiency having amassed a stockpile of food, taking up much of their living space but enabling them to see out a major crisis.

Only the mother’s twin sister worked outside the home, while neither the mother nor the eight-year-old girl, who did not attend school, were registered with the local authorities.

**

More info at link about the family's background.

 

[fred&edna]

Per Google translation.

“I am stunned, confided yesterday the brother-in-law of the couple. It's been fifteen years since we had any news. Six months after their wedding, Éric and Nasrine brutally cut ties, without any explanation. The brother-in-law had met Nasrine Feraoun one last time in a street in Paris. In his stroller, little Allan. The first and last time they saw their nephew.

La fin tragique des petites-filles de Mouloud Feraoun en Suisse