Couple Found in Hotel, Cradling One Another in Apparent Dual Suicide
A couple found dead in a hotel in a Staten Island hotel room have been identified, and their deaths have been labeled as suicides. Friends and family were stunned by the news and have asked for privacy as they mourn the loss of two relatively young but troubled people who allegedly had a suicide pact.
When Theresa Mateo and Scott Jacobi failed to check out of the Hilton Garden Inn on time, a maid was sent to see if there was any trouble. After several unanswered knocks, the maid used her key to enter the room and found the couple dead in their bed, fully dressed and cradling one another. There were no guns, drugs, or blood at the scene, leaving police questioning how they committed suicide, though it's possible they overdosed.
Neither Mateo nor Jacobi left a suicide note for their loved ones, but family and friends said that they had been having some financial trouble. Mateo's mother told reporters that her daughter was depressed after a difficult relationship with a former boyfriend. Her friends and family confirmed that Mateo was almost always talking about not being able to find a good man.
"They were having a run of bad luck," a relative of Jacobi told New York Daily News.
Mateo and Jacobi had been dating for nearly eight months, and it's possible that their relationship hit a rough patch and the two were consumed by despair and took their lives.
"My family and I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and sympathies during this tragic time," Mateo's older brother Tom Miressi said in a statement. "I am at a loss for words and I'm sorry I cannot answer everyone's texts, phone calls, and emails right away. My family and I are finalizing the arrangements and trying to get back to everyone as best we can. I'll post the funeral arrangements for my little sister Theresa Mateo sometime this evening or tomorrow morning once it's finalized."
The family has asked that those wanting to show their love or respect to Mateo make donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation Hudson Valley Chapter.
