Disneyland suicide of Disney music heir
NewsThe cellist and ensemble leader Chris Christensen jumped to his death from the Mickey & Friends parking tower at California Disneyland on Saturday ahead of a Monday court hearing over a family breakup. He was 51.
Chris was the son of Jim Christensen, composer of themes for Disney World, among some 250 published works.
Chris had been suspended from his post as a school principal after his estranged wife accused him of child endangerment. He was founder of Seaside Strings in Huntington Beach, and a cellist in the ensemble. In his suicide note he wrote: ‘To all of my musician friends… thank you! Thank you for performing with me for the past 30 years… Music has been a wonderful outlet for me as it has allowed me to have a ‘different & creative’ world outside of my ‘day job’ as a principal.
Mickisch & Friends
Personal tragedy is not something to joke about, Gustavo.
Sad.
What in the world is “child endangerment” and how do we recognize it when we see it?
Why weren’t the parents of the children at the school the complainants. Something doesn’t add up here.
This has nothing to do with the School
So, what HAS it to do with? Pretty sure a school is a place where Principals work. Or are we missing the real culprit?
“Child endangerment” is a legal term with different shades of meaning in different US states, however “failure to provide reasonable care” is a recurring concept.
It could be anything from leaving a child unsupervised to having a child as a passenger while driving under the influence. The age and ability of the child to make good judgements on their own may figure into what is deemed “reasonable” care.
It wouldn’t be unusual for a school to suspend an employee who had such an allegation against them, at least until the veracity and nature of it were settled.
What a terrible tragedy. Further information in the New York Post and Daily Mail.