Who was Charles Brown? St Louis attorney, often seen on TV ads, dies after jumping off highrise office building
A prominent US attorney died by suicide after jumping off a highrise office building where he worked, authorities have revealed. Charles "Ed" Brown jumped off the building in St Louis, Missouri, around 4.30 pm on Monday, October 26, and landed on a roof at the bottom, the St Louis Post-Dispatch said. The 61-year-old wore an eye patch and was often seen in TV advertisements and billboards around the area.
David Shulman from Brown's law firm, Brown & Brown, released a statement and said, "We are shocked and devastated. We request the privacy of the family is respected during this most difficult time." According to the police, homicide detectives had gone to the scene in order to investigate, but Brown's death is being treated as a suicide. Brown and his brother, Dan, had created the firm in 1993 for personal injury and criminal defense cases. The two had also been seen in a local video series, 'On the Road with Brown & Brown' which saw them touring around metropolitan destinations in the area.
As per KMOX radio station, Brown was "most recognizable for his eye patch which covers an injury he received when he was a child". The commercials for Brown & Brown often had very catchy and memorable lines such as, "If you can't come to us, we'll come to you." The law firm's website has revealed that Brown had been a principal partner at the office and he concentrated on criminal law and traffic cases. According to Shulman, Brown loved his family "and enjoyed tennis, riding his motorcycle, sports cars, and traveling the world".
As reported by Fox News, a good friend of Brown's, Lenny Kagan, shared: "Absolutely shocking. I just met with Ed last week. Had lunch, talked Sunday the day before this happened. He seemed to be in good spirits." Kagan has known Brown for around 20 years and said that there were no indications of him being depressed or having any sort of problems. "Brown was a genuine character. Genuinely a good man. He loved his family, cared about his clients greatly loved his friends, just a good a hearted person to be around," Kagan said.
Many social media users reacted in shock at the news of Brown's death. One such user wrote, "Saw this today. Was shocked. That shows you never know what someone is going through." Another commented, "Like everything else, you never know how someone is mentally. He must have been massively depressed. Sorry for those who will miss him. RIP." "This is awful. I regularly watch 'On the Road With Brown & Brown' going to places in and around North County where I grew up, went to school, and rode my bike. Somehow, I felt as if I knew them personally, & because of that, it seems more personal than if it was anyone else. Sad," wrote another user. Yet another, who echoed the same sentiments, chimed in: "I'm so sorry. I didn't know him, but I will miss seeing him in their commercials and their tours around the area."