Sister of woman who took her own life hangs herself in Brooklyn

The older sister of a 30-year-old Hasidic woman who jumped to her death in July has died after hanging herself, a law-enforcement official said.'
Sara Mayer, 31, was found early Sunday afternoon by her parents inside their Borough Park home, friends and family told the Daily News.
Sara suffered from mental illness and had been hospitalized multiple times, her loved ones added.

KEN MURRAY/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The sister of Faigy Mayer, who committed suicide in July, has now been found dead in her home an apparent suicide.

She was scheduled to move into a group home on Tuesday, the law-enforcement official said. She was home gathering her stuff before the visit.

"The parents are devastated," said Jack Meyer, the founder of Masaskim, a Jewish burial group. "They don't know what hit them."

In July, her younger sister Faigy Mayer, 30, went to 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar, climbed onto the ledge of a terrace with outdoor seating and leaped to the sidewalk. She died at the scene.

KEN MURRAY/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sara Mayer, 31, was found by her parents in their Brooklyn home.

The suicide garnered headlines because party goers inside the bar -- who apparently didn't realize what happened -- continued to drink and dine.

Before her death, the younger Faigy Mayer railed against rigid religious practices and worried about her relatives growing up in the Belz Hasidic sect.

"It isn't fair to them that they have to live their lives the way they do," she wrote in the email dated July 12, shortly before her suicide. "The most fun they have is to color with crayons."

FAIGY MAYER VIA FACEBOOKEnlarge

FAIGY MAYER VIA FACEBOOKEnlarge

30-year-old Faigy Mayer, sister of Sara, jumped to her death from a Flatiron rooftop bar in July.

She wrote that her three nephews were barred from playing games on a smartphone or watching television.

The young women's parents struggled to care for Sara Mayer during multiple bouts of extreme depression, loved ones said.

"It's a sad story," said Meyer Mark Appel, founder of Voice of Justice, a child advocacy group. "She was very depressed."

Outside the home, a neighbor, who declined to give his name, also noted she struggled with mental illness.

"She wasn't ok," the man said.