The father of the 35-year-old Manhattan woman found dead in her car from an apparent suicide struggles for answers as he describes his daughter as “my whole world.”
Ariel Campbell, a psychotherapist, was found dead in the backseat of her jeep on Sunday after ingesting dangerous chemicals.
DailyMail.com can reveal that Brandt’s lime sulfur — often used to kill pests on plants and fruits — was found in her passenger seat mixed with an unknown substance to form hydrogen sulfide gas, a deadly chemical when ingested.
Her father David Campbell, 75, said it’s possible her mother Elizabeth’s death last year was a factor.
“I know she had a hard time losing her mother and I can only imagine that’s what drove her to do this,” said Campbell, the former CEO of Global Minerals and Metals Corp.
Ariel Campbell, 35, was found dead in her car in Manhattan on Sunday after an apparent suicide after ingesting dangerous chemicals
Hazmat-clad first responders descended on Midtown Manhattan Sunday afternoon after a woman — psychologist Ariel Campbell — was found dead in her car surrounded by dangerous chemicals
Ariel was first spotted unconscious in her black jeep by a dog walker around 11:23 a.m. on Sunday
Ariel, a licensed clinical psychotherapist who specializes in treating anxiety and mood disorders, has not told her family why she would kill herself.
“She didn’t leave a note at her apartment or with her, so I don’t know much about what happened and what’s behind it,” Campbell said.
“All I can tell you is that Ariel was my only child,” he continued in describing the tragic loss.
“My wife and her mother passed away last year, and those two were my whole world. And now that her mother was gone, Ariel was all my world. And now she’s gone. Both my wife and I couldn’t possibly have loved her more.
“And to keep from breaking into tears, that’s all I can really tell you.”
The apparent suicide occurred in her jeep parked at East 56th Street and Sutton Place, near the East River, about a block from the building where she previously lived with her family.
Ariel had a privileged upbringing. She had attended private Dalton School and then Cornell University, where, according to her LinkedIn profile, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
She then received her PhD in psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, a division of Yeshiva University in New York.
She said on LinkedIn that she was a “certified clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy with adults, adolescents and children.”
“Fields of expertise include the treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, OCD and trauma,” she wrote, adding that she had “considerable experience working with patients of all ages, with eating disorders, emotional dysregulation, interpersonal problems, behavioral problems and general difficulties in coping’. typical life stressors.’
Two NYPD officers and an paramedic suffered minor injuries at the scene and one was transported to a local hospital in the aftermath
The apparent suicide occurred in her jeep parked at East 56th Street and Sutton Place, near the East River, about a block from the building where she previously lived with her family
Emergency services lined up near the crime scene in Midtown Manhattan where Campbell was found dead in a car surrounded by ‘dangerous chemicals’
DailyMail.com can reveal that Brandt’s lime sulfur — commonly used to kill pests on plants and fruits — was found in her passenger seat mixed with an unknown substance to form hydrogen sulfide gas, a deadly chemical when ingested
Ariel was first spotted unconscious in her vehicle by a dog walker at around 11:23 a.m. on Sunday.
When two officers arrived on the scene, they were immediately hit by a strong sulfur smell and found the woman dead at the scene.
The smell would smell like rotten eggs.
Hazmat-clad emergency responders arrived on the scene and closed off the street as first responders were seen using Geiger counters to measure radiation levels in the area.
The area remained cordoned off Sunday evening after two NYPD officers and an EMS member suffered minor injuries. One of them was taken to a local hospital in the aftermath.
Authorities said a range of liquid chemicals, now confirmed to be lime sulfur, were found in the car, the combination of which is believed to have killed Ariel.
