WPRO News and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Authorities have identified a suspected shoplifter who died after running from store security and jumping 25 feet off a shopping mall parking garage in Rhode Island.
Providence police on Thursday said the woman was 35-year-old Trudy Oxx of Westerly. Oxx was a mother of three, according to Iannotti Funeral Home in Coventry.
Authorities said a Nordstrom security guard followed Oxx to the parking garage on July 16, after she returned women’s clothing she had taken off the racks but didn’t pay for. Oxx then jumped over a railing.
Providence police Maj. David Lapatin says Oxx was aware of the drop before she jumped. He declined to say whether Oxx paused before leaping.
Lapatin says police are still investigating the incident, but criminal charges aren’t being contemplated.
