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A Southwest flight attendant died by suicide after her body was found beside a dumpster outside a four-star Hawaii hotel — while her family suspected foul play.
Jenny Lupton, 50, died of multiple injuries after falling from the 24th floor of the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach, about 10 miles from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Lupton, an Oklahoma native and the mother of a 15-year-old son, was staying at the hotel during a layover while working for the Texas-based airline.
She was found dead outside the building in the early morning hours of Aug. 20, while investigators initially told Lupton’s family that she had fallen from her room’s balcony.
Lupton had planned to stay in the resort paradise for several days before returning home, her family told People.
Her relatives questioned how she died and pressed for an investigation, insisting she had not intended to take her own life.
The Honolulu Police Department said it launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lupton’s death on Aug. 24 — the day her family requested the probe.
“This is a thorough investigation that will take time,” the department said at the time.
“Detectives are conducting numerous interviews, reviewing and recovering surveillance video, and examining evidence as part of the investigative process.”
Police said their investigation into Lupton’s death remains open despite the medical examiner’s ruling.
“We strongly believe that she didn’t do this intentionally, and so that leads us to think it was either some kind of freak accident or someone harmed her,” her grieving sister, Tresa Lupton, told KFOR in August.
“We just want to know what happened. It doesn’t feel real.”
Tresa Lupton said her sister seemed to be enjoying the layover and kept her updated on her stay through text messages.
“She just went out with one of her flight attendant friends, and they danced and had a good time,” she said.
“She had just gotten a tattoo hours before this happened, and she messaged me. She said that when she gets back, she’s going to have it colored in because it was just the outline.”
Lupton spent nearly three decades as a flight attendant, most of it with Southwest.
Her niece, Hannah Lupton, said she followed in her aunt’s footsteps in becoming a flight attendant.
“She was truly the best aunt anyone could have asked for,” Hannah Lupton said in an August social media post. “She was the light of every party, the person who could make a room brighter simply by being in it. She had a personality that was impossible to forget, and if you knew her, you probably have a funny story about her.
Following her death, Southwest Airlines said it “offered our condolences and support to the employee’s family and coworkers” and that it’s “engaged with local authorities as they investigate.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.