Contest-Winning Tourist Takes Fatal Leap

A 21-year-old woman visiting New York City from a small town in Minnesota killed herself Friday evening by jumping from the fire escape of a midtown hotel. The suicide ended a weekend that was the result of winning tickets to Friday night's Z100 Jingle Ball concert at Madison Square Garden. Jennifer Olson was from the town of Eveleth, Minnesota, population: 3,000. She checked into the Night Hotel on 45th St. with her male friend Timothy O'Neill. The two were co-workers at a dental office in Eveleth and O'Neill apparently had a romantic interest in Olson, which was not reciprocal. Nonetheless, she accepted his invitation to go to NYC with him after he won tickets to the concert.

A patron at the nearby bar The Perfect Pint saw the two of them drinking before the show. She was described as being friendly and nice, but that O'Neill seemed annoyed that she was talking to other people rather than paying attention to him. The pair got into an argument when O'Neill reportedly suggested skipping the concert and going to another bar instead. The argument apparently continued after they returned to their room at the Night Hotel, which is when she stepped out onto the fire escape and jumped. The 60 foot fall proved fatal after she landed on a concrete ledge below.

According to the Daily News, Eveleth, MN is nearly 200 miles north of the Twin Cities and was the setting for the Charlize Theron film "North Country," which was about sexual harassment at a mining facility.

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By Dave Hogarty in News on December 16, 2007 11:45 AM

Comments [rss]

dancin4uboo12

can't you people find something better to talk about.

this is hard enough on her family..myself being part of it..and your smart ass comments don't make it any better.

none of you knew her so stop talking about her.

this isn't some sort of joke or movie to be commented on.

its my cousin..who i will never walk through my door again.

you people are so sick. we have to live the rest of our lives without her and your not making it any easier.

good job guys. good job.

Dave Hogarty

[17] Regarding the depression and anti-anxiety meds, I'm just passing along the stuff reported in our daily papers. In regards to the insensitivity of some readers about the death of a young woman, try not to take it too hard; it's a tough crowd.

youarewrong

and also, what kind of person makes jokes at the expense of a dead woman? do you think you're being funny??? take a second and realize that jen's friends and family might be reading this, you inconsiderate jerks.

youarewrong

"she suffered from depression and was taking anti-anxiety medication" ... ?? as someone who has known jen for the last two years, i'd like to state that you are dead wrong and should check your information before posting it.

it seems that the key factor in the whole situation is that BOTH had been drinking all night. and guys are guys, and we know how well they deal with unrequited love. was it murder? did tim push her? we don't know. but in a clear state of mind, jen olson was not the type of girl to jump 60 feet off a building.

JenChungsBaby

I'm sure the people in Eveleth, MN are right now clucking their tongues and talking about the evils of the Big City.

bklynd

But really, WE ALL murdered her, by not caring when she was alive.

Elderta

The Daily News reported that a witness from the Millennium Hotel saw her climb over a railing and jump. Does anybody actually read the articles that are posted? Sheesh... ;)

Snoopy

I vote guilty of premeditated murder.

Any pics of the girl? Is she related to the Olsen sisters?

ed_Extinct

sounds more like murder to me

Dave Hogarty

Apparently she suffered from depression and was taking anti-anxiety medication. If she was drinking also, that can be a volatile combination, although the "pushing" theory makes sense at face value. I doubt the cops would let Tim O'Neill hope a plane back to MN however, which he did, if they thought there was a reasonable suspicion that he killed Olson. Of course, one can never go wrong oversetimating people.

harveywallbangers

I think she was pushed. I can't imagine her jumping if she were having fun earlier, talking to other people in the bar. I bet he became jealous and pushed her off.

Karen

I wonder if she was trying to get away from him, panicked, and didn't realize that she was jumping off, but to somewhere safe?

GoodBurger

What witness? It reads as if she were pushed...

Dave Hogarty

The Minnesota station probably has some type of syndication relationship with Z100, or it was some type of cross-promotion.

And yes, it was the male friend who actually won the tickets. As Olson was his co-attendee, however, it seemed too awkward to be overly explicit in the title.