Posted on 04/01/2008 9:13:09 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Prayers couldn't save man from himself Tuesday, April 1, 2008 9:55 PM By Randy Ludlow THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Ultimately, the prayers of others could not save Marc Kidby from himself.
On Feb. 8, Ohio University's Baker Center was evacuated as he threatened to jump from a fifth-floor ledge inside the student union.
A group of students prayed for his safety, writing inspirational notes that a campus police lieutenant read to him. Their prayers were answered. After four hours, Kidby left the ledge.
On Feb. 18, he prepared to jump from the sixth floor of the Athens city parking garage. Police officers distracted him and then shot him with a Taser to prevent the plunge.
Today, no one was there to stop him.
Alone at a rural Athens County house, Kidby shot himself about 7:30 a.m., called a friend to say goodbye and then shot himself again, deputies said.
Kidby, 30, an OU graduate and administrative associate in the school's Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, leaves behind his college sweetheart and a 2-year-old daughter.
He apparently had been despondent since his wife filed for divorce Feb. 4. A note left in his car during the Feb. 18 attempt attributed his desire to die to the divorce, said Athens Police Lt. Randy Gray.
Kidby was scheduled to appear in court tomorrow morning for a hearing on a domestic-violence protective order granted to his wife, according to court records.
Former student Katie Pagenstecher, 21, was among those who prayed for Kidby outside Baker Center on Feb.8. She invited him to share God's love, writing that he didn't have to face his problems alone.
She was shaken today to learn of Kidby's death, whispering to a friend: “Marc killed himself.
“It breaks my heart,” she went on to say. “That's a shame. We all feel a loss. ... Sometimes things like this are beyond human understanding. Only God can judge.”
Kidby was receiving mental-health treatment and had been hospitalized at Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare in Athens before being released.
OU officials continued to reach out to Kidby to offer help, university spokeswoman Sally Linder said.
“We are so sorry to lose any member of our community under any circumstances,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”
The North Central Mental Health Services suicide-prevention hot line is 614-221-5445. Information about suicide prevention is at www.callthehotline.com.
rludlow@dispatch.com
Prayers for him and his family.
At least he didn’t kill his ex and his daughter before himself. That’s got to be a positive in God’s eyes.
I’ve been around a number of families after a suicide. With the exception of murder/suicide it has got to be about the most traumatic thing you can inflict on your family.
Which is probably a major reason why some people do it.
As I was raised Catholic, I was always taught that suicide was the ultimate act of selfishness.
With the exception of those in extreme and incurable pain, I tend to agree with you.
I believe God can recognize that some people are just stressed by pain beyond what they are able to endure.
While Catholicism does teach suicide is wrong:
(2280) “Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.”
It also recognizes that there can be factors that obscure an individual’s ability to make a moral decision:
(2282) “Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.”
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