Gigi Jordan, a wealthy pharmaceutical executive convicted of manslaughter in the death of her eight-year-old son, was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment in what authorities are investigating as a possible suicide.
The news came just hours after US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order sending Jordan back to prison.
Jordan’s body was discovered around 12:30 a.m. Friday at her home in Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn
The 62-year-old’s cause of death has not yet been determined, but sources say a note was found at the scene.
Gigi Jordan, 62, a multimillionaire pharmaceutical executive convicted of manslaughter in the 2010 death of her eight-year-old autistic son, was found dead at her home. She is pictured in 2011
Authorities are investigating the 62-year-old’s death as a possible suicide. Her son Jude Mirra was found dead in the $2,300 hotel suite next to his mother in 2010
Jordan was convicted in 2014 of giving the eight-year-old a cocktail of Ambien and Xanax while the two were staying at the luxury Peninsula Hotel
Jordan was accused of fatally dosing pills on her autistic son, Jude Mirra, at the high-end Peninsula Hotel on Fifth Avenue in February 2010. She then made an unsuccessful attempt to take her own life.
During the trial, Jordan’s defense team argued that she killed the boy in a state of extreme emotional confusion because she feared he would be murdered by her ex-husband.
Jordan was acquitted of the top murder charge but found guilty of manslaughter in 2014.
Jordan was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2015, but her manslaughter conviction was overturned in 2020 due to a procedural error.
Gigi Jordan’s body was discovered around 12:30 a.m. Friday at her home in Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn — the cause of death is yet to be determined
In September 2020, a federal judge reversed Jordan’s conviction, saying her right to a public trial under the Sixth Amendment was violated when the lead prosecutor requested closed courtroom discussion during her trial
In 2010 she was accused of giving her autistic son Jude Mirra a fatal dose of pills at a luxury hotel and was found guilty of manslaughter in 2014
On Thursday, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order reversing an earlier decision that allowed Jordan to remain free on bail while the Supreme Court considered her appeal
On Thursday, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order reversing an earlier decision that allowed Jordan to remain free on bail while the Supreme Court considered her appeal.
During her trial, the nurse-turned-pharmaceutical entrepreneur’s lawyers argued that Jordan acted out of fear that her life was in danger and that her son might be vulnerable to abuse.
Jordan testified at her trial that she also took pills to kill herself, but the suicide attempt failed.
“I saw no way out of this situation,” she said during the trial. “I have made a decision that I will end my life and Jude’s life.”
After the judge’s decision to vacate Jordan’s conviction, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said he “vehemently disagreed” with the decision and intended to appeal the decision immediately to the Manhattan federal appellate judges.
A stretcher containing Jude Mirra’s body is rolled out of the Tony Hotel on February 5, 2010. Jordan later said she also tried to kill herself but failed in her attempt
If necessary, the bureau had said it would consider trying Jordan again for the murder of her son, spokesman Danny Frost said at the time.
The terms of her release also required Jordan to post $250,000 bail, remain in New York City under electronic surveillance, commit no other crimes, and avoid contact with illegal drugs or firearms.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255; Contact the Crisis Text Line by TALK to 741741; or chat with someone online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
In 2020, a federal judge overturned her conviction based on a procedural error and placed her under house arrest on $250,000 bail