Australian United Nations diplomat Julian Simpson. Photo / Facebook
Australian United Nations diplomat Julian Simpson. Photo / Facebook
A disagreement with his brother-in-law led Australian diplomat Julian Simpson to propose a "trust game" that saw him accidentally plunge five storeys to his death in New York City early Wednesday on morning.
A clearer picture has emerged of the events that led to the 30-year-old falling off the roof his apartment in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Simpson, his wife Lauren Waugh, and her brother James Waugh were partying in Manhattan with a group of about 10 on Tuesday night, celebrating the Yes vote in Australia's same-sex marriage survey.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the party - who had been drinking heavily - went up to the roof of Simpson's building to see the Empire State Building lit up in rainbow colours in celebration of the affirmative result.
Police said the brother-in-law became angry when Simpson scared James Waugh's wife by spinning her around by the arms on the roof, which has low walls and railings.
Back in the apartment later on, James Waugh, 24, confronted Simpson about the incident and asked him to "step outside", the South China Morning Post reported.
The two men, who were good friends, stepped out on to the building's seventh-storey roof terrace. Simpson said he never meant to frighten James Waugh's wife.
"I will prove it that you can trust me," Simpson told his brother-in-law, according to the New York Post.
James Waugh saw his brother-in-law, Australian diplomat Julian Simpson, fall from the roof in New York. Photo / Facebook
To prove he was trustworthy, Simpson sat on the low metal railing and leant back. James Waugh reached out to catch him, but before he could Simpson slipped and fell five storeys down to the second-floor courtyard at the back of the building. Police received a 911 call about the incident at 1.37am.
A neighbour told the South China Morning Post that he saw paramedics perform CPR on a bloody body after he was woken by the commotion. Simpson was rushed to Mt Sinai Beth Israel hospital, about 20 blocks away, where he was pronounced dead.
A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed to news.com.au it was investigating the "trust game" and said the incident was considered an accident. No charges are expected to be laid.
Ms Waugh posted on her Facebook page that she was "absolutely shattered", News Corp Australia reports.
Mr Simpson was two and half years into a three-year diplomatic posting with the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday that it was "providing consular assistance to the family", who had "requested privacy".
Lauren Waugh and her husband, Australian United Nations diplomat Julian Simpson. Photo / Art On View, National Art Gallery
Lauren Waugh posted on her Facebook page that she was "absolutely shattered", News Corp Australia reports.
Simpson was two and half years into a three-year diplomatic posting with the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday that it was "providing consular assistance to the family", who had "requested privacy".
