Metro

Cartoonist jumps from tony NYC building despite girlfriend’s desperate attempts to save him: ‘He slipped away’

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Published March 5, 2024, 4:03 p.m. ET

A “depressed” cartoonist plunged to his death from his 15th-floor Chelsea co-op Tuesday, despite his girlfriend’s desperate attempts to grab him and save his life, according to cops and witnesses.

The jumper at 300 W. 23rd St. was identified as Jon Medwick, a 62-year-old artist who also held a day job working for WebMD, said police sources and witnesses.

A police source told The Post that Medwick’s 45-year-old girlfriend woke to find him standing at the window. She tried to grab him and hold him back, but “he slipped away.”

Police responded to a 911 call at the renovated pre-war building around 5:45 a.m.

“When I saw the coroner pulled up, the body bag, the ambulance, I knew something happened,” one person in the building said.

“His apartment is at the back of the building. From what they were saying, he jumped from his apartment window.”

Medwick, who lived in the building for more than a decade and served on its co-op’s board, was described by fellow residents as a “very nice” and “sociable” guy.

One-bedroom apartments in the building have gone for anywhere between $540,000 and $1.45 million.

Medwick’s Instagram account was filled with stunning photos of the sun setting on Manhattan that he apparently took from the high-rise apartment.

Jon Medwick seen in undated social media photo.
Cartoonist Jon Medwick, 62, plunged to his death from his 15th-floor Chelsea co-op Tuesday, despite his girlfriend’s desperate attempts to grab him and save his life, according to cops and witnesses.

He had been living with his girlfriend, who was visibly upset while being taken to the hospital after Medwick’s death, one source said.

“I did see the girlfriend. She looked distraught. She kept saying her legs were hurting … I don’t know if she was nervous. EMS took her,” the source added.

His brother was also at the building Tuesday talking to detectives, according to the source.

Medwick had been living with his girlfriend since just before the COVID-19 pandemic and had a brother who would visit him, another source inside the co-op told The Post.

“He was a cartoonist. He did a picture for me. It was pretty nice,” they added.

300 West 23rd Street in Manhattan
A police source told The Post that Medwick’s 45-year-old girlfriend saw him at the window and tried to hold him back, but “he slipped away.” G.N.Miller/NYPost

Medwick mainly worked from home, and sometimes clients commissioning his art would come to the building to get their pieces, the resident said.

“Thank God it wasn’t in the front. I didn’t want to see him like that,” they said.

“I’d have been traumatized. That’s not a happy sight.”

Police said they did not believe the fall was suspicious.

One person in the building said an ambulance took Medwick to the hospital on Sunday and brought him back.

Cops said he was “depressed” before the apparent plunge.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.