Ocean Grove ocean front. Monday, May 16, 7:21 PM. By Paul Goldfinger
— UPDATED STORY —
An Ocean Grove man hanged himself by a rope from the boardwalk pier early Monday evening, police and witnesses said. They also said that the rope decapitated him and that his head had not yet been found.
Police, firemen and ambulances responded around 6 p.m.
People at the scene said that two young men on bicycles happened along and saw the hanging. One of them went in the water and retrieved the body.
On Tuesday, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office identified the victim as John Leatherman, 43. He lived at 98 Main Avenue, was a member of the Ocean Grove Fire Department, and has family in Ocean Grove.
According to a story from the Asbury Park Press archives, Leatherman once won $1,018,861 from an Atlantic City slot machine. It was New Year’s Eve 2001, according to the article, and he was on vacation with his girlfriend at the Trump Taj Mahal. “We came in to go to the dance club,” the article quoted him as saying, “and I saw the machine, stopped, put in a $20 bill and won on the second pull.”
A friend of the family told Blogfinger on Tuesday that family members had seen “no indication of despair” prior to Leatherman’s death.
— Charles Layton and Paul Goldfinger
I will never ever forget my beautiful fun friend! I am grateful for all the memories.
John was a nice kid, I knew him when we were little, living on Main Avenue in Ocean Grove. I hope he is out of whatever pain made him do this horrible thing.
So sad. A very public way to end one’s life. Prayers to the surviving family. And prayers to the attempted rescuers and emergency response personnel who had a very gruesome scene to deal with. I hope they all get the support they need.
What an awful tragedy … and that isn’t strong enough. That poor man’s family. So much pain.
I heard the sirens and saw Neptune PD flying down Main Ave…wondered what it was…so sad.