Teen’s plunge from bell tower ruled suicide

The Montgomery County coroner says the death of a Hatboro-Horsham High School student who plunged this month from a 174-foot cemetery bell tower was a suicide.

Dr. Walter I. Hofman reached the conclusion about two weeks after authorities found the body of 16-year-old Nick Carr at the base of the bell tower in the Whitemarsh Memorial Park in Ambler.

Authorities and friends were initially perplexed by the death, unsure whether Carr wanted to kill himself or was being adventurous. He brought a ladder from home to the cemetery and used it to gain access to a lower opening into the tower. He then walked up an interior stairway to the top of the eight-story bell tower on Nov. 7.

Hoffman concluded that Carr's behavior was so reckless but purposeful that it couldn't be considered an accident.

"This is not an accident; this is high-risk behavior," Hofman said Friday. "And high-risk behavior is suicidal."

Hofman said an autopsy detected a small amount of marijuana in the teen's body, but not enough to be considered a factor. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman had previously said there was no evidence of foul play.