NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A college student jumped to his death off a bridge a day after two classmates surreptitiously recorded him having sex with a man in his dorm room and broadcast it over the Internet, authorities said Wednesday.
The Rutgers freshman, Tyler Clementi, jumped off the George Washington Bridge last Thursday, the Clementi family's attorney, Paul Mainardi, confirmed on Wednesday.
New York Police Department harbor officers recovered the body of a white man, clad only in pants, wearing a watch and without identification after a parks department employee spotted a body floating in the river, police said. The body was taken to the city medical examiner's office; authorities hoped to use the watch as identification.
Clementi's driver's license and Rutgers ID were found in a wallet left on the bridge on Sept. 22 after two witnesses saw someone jump from it, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
ABC News and The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that Clementi left on his Facebook page on Sept. 22 a note that read: "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry." On Wednesday, his Facebook page was accessible only to friends.
News of the death came on the same day that Rutgers kicked off a two-year, campuswide project to teach the importance of civility, with special attention to bullying and the use and abuse of new technology, The New York Times reported.
Under the aegis of that project, students, faculty and other employees have been encouraged to attend a series of lectures, presentations and discussions exploring such topics as how cell phones, iPods and other gadgets affect civility, and sportsmanship for athletes and fans.
"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician," Mainardi said. "The family is heartbroken beyond words."