GWB jumper’s 'frenemies’ say she was unstable and started online feuds
Last Updated:3:01 PM, February 8, 2013
Posted:2:58 AM, February 8, 2013
The fashionista who jumped to her death from the George Washington Bridge felt under siege by five frenemies she barred from her funeral via suicide note — including one who told her to overdose, The Post has learned.
“Go try to kill yourself on Xanax again, you unstable loser. Go f--k yourself and never speak to me again,” Alison Tinari wrote in a Facebook exchange with troubled Ashley Riggitano, who killed herself Wednesday, her 22nd birthday.
The blond beauty left behind a multipage, handwritten note in a Louis Vuitton bag that excluded Tinari and four other women from the funeral because of their contentious relationships through the years.
A source identified the others as Teresa Castaldo, Beth Bassil, Victoria Van Thunen and Samantha Horneff.
Van Thunen was Riggitano’s business partner at Missfits, a jewelry-design business. Castaldo and Bassil were classmates at Midtown’s Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, and Horneff was a friend from New Jersey.
Riggitano placed her handbag on a walkway at about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday before leaping from a midway point in the Jersey-bound lanes of the upper level, authorities said.
Prescription drugs, including Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD, and Klonopin, an anti-panic drug, were found in her bag.
Riggitano’s suicide notes — written in girlish cursive on lined, loose-leaf paper — revealed the depths of her despair.
“To any funeral, these people should not be allowed based upon words and actions,” she wrote about the five women.
She also mentioned three others by first name only — calling them “only people I love & always there to tell sorry.”
She blasted her other pals, writing, “All my other ‘friends’ are in it for gossip, never there just 1/4 for gossip.”
Hours before the suicide, Van Thunen ripped Riggitano in a Facebook post.
“Those who incessantly blame others as the cause of their issues should perhaps take a step back and re-evaluate these situations,” Van Thunen, 21, wrote.
“The common thread may be that ‘they’ aren’t the problem, but rather that YOU are.”
About a month earlier, Riggitano initiated an ugly, two-day exchange with Tinari that led to the Xanax suicide comment.
The fight stemmed from Tinari’s ongoing friendship with Riggitano’s boyfriend, aspiring race-car driver Drew Heissenbuttel.
“It’s really horrible what happened. I feel really bad for her family. It’s crazy. I feel really bad for her. I never went after her; she went after me,” a remorseful Tinari told The Post yesterday, adding that she didn’t even know Riggitano before the exchange.
“She harassed me on Facebook,” Tinari said. “I’m not her friend. She private- messaged me. She sent me messages on January 8 and 9, and I said some things. I told her she needs to leave me alone.
“The only thing I’m ashamed of is what I said about her overdosing on Xanax. I shouldn’t have said that.”
That comment was part of a post in which Tinari also said Heissenbuttel had told her about Riggitano’s mental-health issues and a previous suicide attempt.
Riggitano responded to the suicide comment by writing, “thats called a threat, and a suicidal threat the police dont take that lightly since the boy in ridgewood killed because of someones words” — referring to Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who jumped from the same bridge in 2010 after his college roommate secretly taped him with another man.
“There are now bullying laws against suicidal threats and words u should of checked that out before sending that,” she wrote.
Riggitano started the argument in a wild Facebook rant to Tinari, 23.
“Since drew cannot take care of the issue at hand, I will. You have been nothing but a bitch to me every time you walked in the door ignoring my existence maybe because you were so concerned with picking up your drugs . . . Everyone who has spoken to me when i came into the picture told me all about you and his friends had nothing good to say except you used Drew for his money, “ she rambled.
Tinari flatly denied the allegations to The Post in a text message: “I wasn’t involved in drugs at all.”
The Facebook posting from Riggitano continued: “I dont respect you because of your actions and in general what i’ve heard of you and what you do, if you want him to be ‘happy’ because hes your ‘best friend’ stay away from me and him because all your doing is making him pissed off and stressed out. Thanks xxxxxxo.”
Tinari fired off an angry response. “If you think I have time for your bulls--t think again. I don’t give two s--ts about you. I did not post anything of facebook or instagram for you to see. I cannot believe you think I give a f--k, i have better things to do with my time than to stir the pot with some bitch i dont even know . . . Leave me the f--k alone. I’m not playing these childish games with you. F--k off you pathetic loser,” she snarled.
The New Jersey friend, Horneff, who said she has known Riggitano for eight years, was stunned to be mentioned in her suicide note as a persona non grata for the funeral.
“Right now, my friends, family and I are just trying to understand what happened and to deal with it,” she said.
“It’s heartbreaking, and we’re trying to let her family grieve in peace.”
LIM classmate Castaldo’s mother told The Post that the two were not close and that they’d known each other only from school.
Bassil, a publicist for Halston, could not be reached.
Sources said investigators are looking into whether bullying played a role in the suicide.
“Was it bullying in her mind? We don’t know,” a source said. “The detectives are going to investigate it, but right now we don’t know whether it was something that just happened in her mind or something that really happened. We really don’t know.”
Riggitano interned for jewelry designer Alex Woo, who remembered her fondly but noted that her behavior was at times erratic.
“She was only here for a few weeks, since the beginning of January,” Woo said at her Midtown studio.
“It was unusual when she left so early. It took us by surprise. We didn’t know what was going on in her personal life. Usually interns stay with us for three months,” said Woo, adding that Riggitano was often out sick. “She definitely didn’t have perfect attendance. She called out sick the day of a big trade event, accessory circuit. It was such a great opportunity, but she called out sick.”
But Woo remained impressed with the ambitious fashion designer.
“She always looked polished,” she said. “When she came to the interview, she was wearing one of my pieces. I think her parents gave it to her. It was really touching for me. I have a special place in my heart for her.”
Riggitano’s parents were interviewed by investigators but declined comment.
Her college said in a statement: “The entire LIM College community is saddened by the loss of Ashley. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.”
Paramus, NJ, neighbor Theresa Zotto called her a promising young woman.
“She was a sweetheart,” Zotto said. “She grew up on this block. She was always friendly and had a very promising future.”
Additional reporting by Pedro Oliveira Jr., Josh Margolin, Amber Sutherland and Rebecca Rosenberg
Read more:EXCLUSIVE: George Washington Bridge jumper’s ‘frenemies’ say she was unstable and started feuds - NYPOST.comhttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/gwb_leaping_beauty_sad_descent_into_EqR6K57li8P19u2JtflNTI#ixzz2KicQ2sdq
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