Mystery grows over NYU student's death after she fell five-stories from the art building to her death and her family says she would 'never' take her own life

The parents of an 18-year-old New York University student who died after falling from an arts building last month are searching for answers and don't believe their daughter jumped to her death.

Doreah Salti fell five stories from the university's Barney Building on Stuyvesant Street in the East Village on February 10.

Police found her unresponsive with severe bodily trauma and transported her to Bellevue Hospital, where she later died from her injuries, reported the New York Post.

At first, police said it appeared the 18-year-old had jumped to her death, but the investigation remains ongoing.

Her parents told The Post they are '100 percent confident Doreah would never take her own life.' 

Doreah Salti fell five stories from New York University's Barney Building on Stuyvesant Street in the East Village on February 10

Her parents searching for answers and don't believe their daughter jumped to her death

George Salti, her father, said he spoke to a city medical examiner who told him Doreah's broken head, hands and wrists are an indicator she tried to protect herself as she fell.

'The medical examiner indicated she does not think she jumped. She went head-first and covered her face,' George said.

'Somebody who covers their face is trying to protect themselves, they are not trying to kill themselves.'

The Saltis, from Hinsdale, Illinois, described their daughter as a happy young woman and do not believe she would have died by suicide.

George said his daughter has just returned from visiting a museum and was deciding where she should go study abroad before she died. They were speaking on the phone and she asked him to purchase opera tickets for them to attend.

'There was no mental health history, no [suicide] note, no bad grades, no substance abuse, no family history of mental health issues,' he said.

'It never occurred to us for even one second that Doreah would do such a thing,' her mother Maria said. 'She would never, ever.'

Doreah's twin sister Isabella described her as 'a happy, happy 18 year old,' and said they were planning a trip to Miami for their birthday.

In her last TikTok posted on January 23, Doreah joked about commenting inappropriate things on videos and hoping her future employers don't find them.  

'Doreah was a bundle of joy. She was intelligent, funny, joyful, creative, a deep thinker, always looking forward — a dynamo,' said Maria,

'Part of her college essay was about being a stand-up comedian. She was witty, she was smart.' 

The Salti family has hired a private investigator and retained the services of international law firm Cohen & Gresser as they search for answers as to how their daughter died.

'Nobody saw her jumping, they assumed. And we have to deal with the consequences of that assumption,' Maria said.

'We don't want to speculate, we want the truth based on facts. This is the least I can do for my daughter.'

Police found her unresponsive with severe bodily trauma and transported her to Bellevue Hospital, where she later died from her injuries

George Salti, her father, said he spoke to a city medical examiner who told him Doreah's broken head, hands and wrists are an indicator she tried to protect herself as she fell

At first, police said it appeared the 18-year-old had jumped to her death, but the investigation remains ongoing

Two days before Doreah died, another New York University student was found dead in her dorm.

On February 8, 19-year-old Jacqueline Beauzile was found unresponsive in her suite at Lipton Hall, reported Our Town New York.

Residents of the first-year housing building along with their parents, were notified about the incident via email approximately five hours after paramedics responded.

'It is our somber duty to let members of the Lipton Hall community know that late this afternoon, a member of the Lipton Hall community was found unresponsive in her suite by University personnel,' stated the email, authored by a group of NYU officials.

The email noted mental health services are available for NYU students.