RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey college student jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge a day after authorities say two fellow students surreptitiously recorded him having sex with a man in his dorm room and broadcast it over the Internet.
Tyler Clementi's body hasn't been recovered.
"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician," Paul Mainardi, a lawyer for his family said, in a statement confirming the suicide. "The family is heartbroken beyond words."
The 18-year-old's driver's license and Rutgers University ID were found in a wallet left on the bridge on Sept. 22 after two witnesses saw someone jump from the structure, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no body has been recovered.
Two Rutgers freshmen have been charged with illegally taping Clementi having sex and broadcasting the images via an Internet chat program.
One of the defendants, Dharun Ravi, was Clementi's roommate, Mainardi told The Star-Ledger of Newark. The other defendant is Molly Wei. They could face up to five years in prison if they're convicted.
A lawyer for Ravi, of Plainsboro, did not immediately return a message. It was not clear whether Wei, of Princeton, had retained a lawyer.
A Twitter account belonging to a Dharun was recently deleted, but in a cached version retained through Google he sent a message on Sept. 19: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Two days later, he wrote on Twitter: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."
Ed Schmiedecke, the recently retired music director at Ridgewood High School, where Clementi graduated earlier this year, said Clementi was a violinist whose life revolved around music.
"He was a terrific musician, and a very promising, hardworking young man."
Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality said in a statement Wednesday that his group considers Clementi's death a hate crime.
"We are heartbroken over the tragic loss of a young man who, by all accounts, was brilliant, talented and kind," Goldstein said. "And we are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others' lives as a sport."
