I think Maxie's death was a terrible tragedy that sparked another terrible tragedy.
In 2 years of being around Maxie I believe Rebecca had come to love him as if he was her own child. Imo, she felt responsible. Riddled with guilt that she could have prevented this in someway even though accidents can happen without warning.
I think she was even thinking about suicide when she ask that her dog be taken care of. She felt that this would have a profound affect on the man she loved. She knew what Maxie meant to Jonah, imo. Maybe she was told it was best she didn't come to the hospital to see Maxie because his mother was so upset and she felt totally cutout.
I suppose I would have never believed this could actually be a suicide if I hadn't had the unfortunate experience of learning about another suicide over 3 weeks ago. One of our daughters best friends for 25 years hung herself. She didn't jump off of the balcony but she did bind her feet and hands and hung herself while naked from the chandelier in their foyer. Her bathrobe was on the floor. She had been married to a doctor for 28 years and they had argued the week before she died about him wanting her to go to a treatment center to get off of prescription drugs. She still had meds in the home but she chose this as her way out. Why did she decide to do it this way? Only she knows.
Maybe suicide victims that strip naked think they came into this world naked and they need to go out the same way. It is hard to get into the mind of someone determined to do this but they can be very creative and create many mysteries for those left behind.
So imo, Rebecca decided this was the best way to make all of her guilt and pain to go away. She knew her life would never be the same again.
IMO
I wonder if your daughter's friend chose not to use pills to kill herself as a final middle finger to those who wanted her to get help. If she had used pills to do it, people could have speculated it was an accidental overdose unless she left a note. It could have been a "we tried to get her help, we knew this would happen" like Anna Nicole Smith.
No one could speculate that her hanging in the foyer naked was an accident. It was a statement. Intentional. Deliberate.
I would think the same thing in this case... but I have a real hard time believing it's a suicide.
I think this is an intentional statement by someone other than the victim.
I have had the misfortune of also knowing several people who decide suicide is the way to go. They can be very creative.
Last year a good friend (early 30's) chose to shoot himself at the top of a waterfall. Insurance... if the shot didn't kill him instantly he would fall over the waterfall and wouldn't be able to get out of the water.
He had access to drugs... but he explained (in his note) that if he used drugs to commit suicide that would only prove what people had said about him. (He had never been on drugs but had been accused of it.)
He also wanted it to be very clear that he had done this on purpose, he had done it alone and why he had.
My Uncle had guns, drugs, rope... and he chose alcohol and carbon monoxide in the middle of the desert.
No mess for his family but they did spend two weeks searching for him. Those two weeks were not fun.
Another Uncle shot himself on the lawn of the family mortuary. Convenient for the family.
Another shot herself in a field and left a note to where to find her. No mess and no searching for her family.