Nude woman attempts suicide by jumping from roof

On May 4, a crowd had gathered to witness an unusual scene as a 27-year-old woman was dancing naked on top of a five-story building on Main Street in Santa Monica. After a couple of tense minutes, the woman suddenly stopped dancing and jumped from the roof in an apparent suicide attempt. Police were notified at 4 p.m.about a naked woman with a shaved head dancing on top of a building at the corner of Main Street and Marine Street. According to the police report, eyewitnesses say Raisa Shamailovna Danilova was dancing with a flagpole and doing yoga movements until she sat down on the edge and dangled her feet a little before pushing herself off. Due to the decorative lightning strung along Main Street, Danilova's fall was broken.

The police believe Danilova had spent the afternoon on top of the roof of One Life Natural Foods Market on Main Street. She was in the company of two other people, a couple in their mid-20s. The male was also seen naked.

The police found a guitar, blankets, and empty alcohol bottles on top of the roof. Danilova admitted to consuming alcohol and marijuana, and a further toxicology report is pending.

"The other female was a friend to her, and the man was that friend's boyfriend," said Sergeant Lewis of the Santa Monica Police Department. "So they were all friends, and they were having a good time when things seemed to have gone totally wrong."

The couple at first walked away from the scene, but were later detained and questioned by the police. They were subsequently released without suspicion.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Danilova near the sidewalk. She was rushed to a local hospital with compound fractures and injuries to her head.

An eyewitness claimed it to be unclear whether Danilova accidentally lost balance or voluntarily jumped. Whether the suicide attempt was planned, an unfortunate accident, or even a spur of the moment impulse remains unclear.  According to psychologist Eve Wilks, Ph.D., alcohol is a mood altering depressant substance and is often involved in suicide attempts."To put it simply, if you are already depressed, then the more you drink the more depressed you will become."

Statistics show that approximately 30 percent of suicide attempts by women involve alcohol, and 15 percent involve other substances and drugs. Keeping alcohol and drugs away from suicidal candidates is high up on advisor and counselor's lists on how to help prevent early deaths, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Dr. Wilks also explains that spur of the moment suicides are very uncommon. "Even if it seems as an impulsive act, the person has more likely been planning it for a long time," she says.

Each year, Los Angeles County has an average of 4,500 suicide attempts, according to L.A. County Public Health Center for Disease Control And Prevention. Of these 4,500, approximately 260 people attempt suicide by jumping from a high altitude, with an average of 195 that actually succeed. If all means are taken into consideration, there is one successful suicide in 25 attempts, also according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of late last week, Danilova was hospitalized and is being kept in critical condition.