The tragic deaths of 33-year-old Chianti Means and her two young children after she reportedly leapt from Niagara Falls have ignited a storm of reactions across social media. Means, a New York mother, is said to have thrown her two children, 9-year-old Roman Rossman and 5-month-old Mecca Means, over the edge of the falls before following herself. Her family attributes her actions to postpartum depression, but the public has largely expressed outrage, with many struggling to find sympathy for Means, whose actions claimed the lives of her innocent children.
Means' cousin, Bierra Hamilton, insisted that Means was suffering from severe postpartum depression, not heartbreak or relationship troubles. "Her death wasn't over a man. My cousin was silently fighting depression alone," Hamilton told The New York Post. Describing Means as "full of life and wisdom" in better times, Hamilton shared how her cousin's death shocked those close to her, pleading for awareness around postpartum mental health. "Postpartum depression is very real and needs a cure," Hamilton added, hoping to remind others of the often-hidden struggles of new mothers.
