Sophia Jones ’27’s Death Ruled a Suicide

Sophia Jones ’27 performing ballet.

Courtesy of the Jones family

By Julie Bonette

Published Feb. 6, 2024

2 min read

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know may have suicidal thoughts, you can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

Sophia Jones ’27 died by suicide on the night of Nov. 29, according to an autopsy report released by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Jones, a member of Yeh College, was originally from Chicago. At Princeton, she planned to major in molecular biology with a certificate in global health and health policy, was a member of the Princeton University Ballet (PUB), and tutored middle school students with the University’s Science Outreach program.

Following the release of the autopsy report, Jones’ parents, Juliet Sorensen ’95 and Benjamin Jones ’95, said in a statement to PAW sent via email: “Sophia loved everyone around her. She lifted people up and could carry her friends, her family — maybe the whole world — on her shoulders. But no matter how strong you are, know that depression can descend without rhyme or reason. We must never let it be a private battle. Sophia would say – ‘let me help you!’ As we remember Sophia, and how she looked out for us, remember we must all seek the help that we need.”

In a previous interview with PAW, Sorensen and Jones credited their “glorious” and “bright” daughter for energetically pursuing her passions, which included ballet, animals, and baking.

“Our entire community is impacted by this tragedy and our hearts are heavy. We share our deepest condolences with Sophia’s family and friends,” W. Rochelle Calhoun, vice president for campus life, wrote in a Nov. 30 email notifying the campus community of the death.

Jones was one of three Princeton students who died in 2023.

In January 2023, Maura Coursey, a first-year master’s in public affairs student at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), was found dead in her off-campus residence; the Middlesex County Medical Examiner determined her death was accidental and caused by “mixed drug toxicity.”

Jaqueline Gonzalez ’25 died in February 2023 after complications from a prolonged illness.

In October 2022, Misrach Ewunetie ’24 was found dead on campus; her death was later ruled a suicide. Justin Lim ’25 and Jazz Chang ’23 both died in May 2022, also due to mental health struggles.

Published in Mar 2024, Issue

2027

2 Responses

Stephen Garner ’72

7 Months Ago

I am struck by the number of Princeton students’ deaths reported in this story. It seems that mental health is a deadly serious issue at Princeton.

George Chang ’63

7 Months Ago

I’m very sorry to hear this.

By a strange coincidence, I wrote a note today about suicide in the Facebook Group “You know you went to Princeton...” The subject was a video clip from Murder She Wrote, and an alumnus asked, “Someone died at Princeton?” Here is my reply:

I don’t know anything about the TV show, but your question reminds of a suicide in what we used to call “The New Quad.” In brief summary, in the spring of 1962, a student showed several of us his closet full of guns. I was surprised, but not shocked (because I had grown up in New Mexico, where many of my neighbors had closets full of guns). So I never reported it.

A year later, while I was a grad student in California, I learned that the student had shot himself. I felt terrible. So I swore that I’d never again ignore a potential suicide.

Over the course of my career as a professor, I’ve “responded” several times. Some people thought that I was a busybody, but I’m sure that it made a difference in some cases.