Christine Chubbuck was an American television news reporter who worked for stations WTOG and WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida.
She was born on August 24, 1944, in Hudson, Ohio, the daughter of Margaretha D. “Peg” and George Fairbanks Chubbuck.
Chubbuck attended the Laurel School for Girls in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, where she formed a “Dateless Wonder Club” with other “rejected” girls who did not have dates on Saturday nights.
She was educated in broadcasting and a volunteer in her community.
On the morning of July 15, 1974, Chubbuck arrived at Channel 40, the local Florida TV station where she worked.
During a live broadcast, she said;
“In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in ‘blood and guts,’ and in living color, you are going to see another first – an attempted suicide”.
She then pulled out a revolver from a bag of puppets she kept under her desk, pointed the gun at the back of her head, and pulled the trigger.
Chubbuck was rushed to the hospital and was pronounced dead about 14 hours later. The video footage of her death was sealed away by the station’s management.
Christine Chubbuck death footage
Chubbuck died on July 15, 1974, at the age of 29, after shooting herself on live television.
She shot herself while the television was running, and the video is currently trending along with its audio.
The death footage has been shared on the Internet Archive, which many have said is fake, but it seems like it was the actual video.
Also, the source has mentioned Chubbuck’s last words.
The video uploaded on the Internet Archive has received mixed comments from people as some of them have said it was 100% fake while some admit it was the real video.
Despite that, none of the verified media outlets have confirmed the news yet as they may have respected the family privacy and one’s personal life.
Why did Christine Chubbuck shoot herself?
Chubbuck shot herself during a live television broadcast on July 15, 1974.
The reasons why she did it are not entirely clear, but it is believed that she was struggling with depression and suicidal tendencies.
Chubbuck had spoken to her family about her struggles with depression and suicidal tendencies, but she did not inform them of her intent to die by suicide on live television.
Her mother later summarized that “her suicide was simply because her personal life was not enough”.
Chubbuck had attempted to overdose on drugs in 1970 and frequently made reference to that event.
She had been seeing a psychiatrist up until several weeks before her death.
It is also worth noting that Chubbuck was a perfectionist and was unhappy with the direction her career was taking.
Ultimately, the exact reasons why the media personality chose to end her life on live television remain a mystery.