Contrary to earlier findings that Jovylyn La Torre Rue committed suicide by hanging in Singapore, a coroner has found that it was a classic case of a prank gone horribly wrong.
According to Channel News Asia, the 39-year-old mother of five was initially believed to have taken her own life on Dec. 11, 2016—just 10 days before she was due to attend her daughter’s wedding in the Philippines.
But after further examination by State Coroner Marvin Bay on Tuesday, Rue was discovered to have staged her own hanging in an attempt to play a prank on her boyfriend.
Rue also tried to fake her own suicide two years before for an undisclosed reason. In December she did it again to “toy with” her boyfriend and “test the extent of his love,” a close friend told the news outlet.
She also claimed to know a “safe way” to stage her hanging, by positioning the rope at a low level, the friend added.
Prior to Rue’s death, her boyfriend reportedly called the same friend and told her about his girlfriend’s plans to take her life once more.
Knowing it was just another ruse, she advised him to calm down and revealed that Rue was only joking. But the supposed dark prank turned into a grim reality, as Rue was pronounced dead just minutes before midnight.
Responders at the scene noticed that the noose around her neck was loosely tied, so much so, that it instantly unraveled after being cut.
“The possibility of Ms. Rue having deliberately hanged herself is highly remote,” Coroner Bay confirmed.
“Her friends, employer and sister have attested to the fact that Ms. Rue never betrayed any suicidal intent,” he added. “It is very likely she had compromised her own airway while staging her false hanging.”
Rue, meanwhile, was described by her Singaporean employers as a woman with a “happy-go-lucky” attitude who often sang to herself while cooking.
Bay, on the other hand, described her accident as an “unfortunate misadventure,” which could have easily been avoided.
The fact that she was alone in her house at the time only made matters worse, as she “could not avail herself to any assistance,” the corner said. Khristian Ibarrola /ra/rga