A pair of Florida sheriff’s deputies who share a one-month old son both killed themselves just days apart.
Deputy Clayton Osteen attempted suicide on New Year’s Eve, and while he survived initially, he was taken off life support two days later.
Unable to cope with Osteen’s death, Deputy Victoria Pacheco, the mother of Osteen’s son, took her own life as well.
Both worked for the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, who shared the details of their deaths in an effort to shine a spotlight on the need for destigmatizing mental health treatment.
“We pray that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change, a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding mental well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis,” Sheriff Ken J. Mascara said in a statement Tuesday.
“Words cannot express the tremendous loss we all feel.”
A 2020 report by the Congressional Research Service showed that a higher risk of suicide affects first responders, and that first responder suicides are likely underreported.
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