Ashley Riggitano’s Funeral: The Entire Church Was ‘In Tears’

Wed, February 13, 2013 12:54pm EDT by 11 Comments
Ashley Riggitano Funeral
HollywoodLife.com, Facebook

So sad. Ashley’s family and friends were ‘in tears’ as they laid her to rest on Feb. 13, following her tragic suicide on Feb. 6. Her boyfriend Drew Heissenbuttel, however, was not there, an eyewitness tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively.

Ashley Riggitano, 22, committed suicide on Feb. 6 when she jumped off the George Washington Bridge after she was bullied on Facebook. Approximately 175-200 family and friends came together at Our Lady of Visitation in Paramus, NJ at 10am for her funeral.

An eyewitness tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively, “Almost 200 people were in tears as they prayed to the lord to let Ashley into heaven. Ashley’s boyfriend Drew Hiessenbuttel didn’t show up to the funeral — which is sad. Her parents and sister, however, were in the front pew, as her casket laid in the center of the aisle — it was elegant and beautiful, all white.”

Drew Heissenbuttel Shares His Sorrow Over Ashley’s Death

“Ashley was a gorgeous girl and we had a great relationship,” Drew told Radar Online. “We were on and off for some time but were together again at the time she passed away. She loved me and I loved her back.”

“I knew something was going on with the Facebook feud but I can’t comment on that,” says Drew, from his home in Mooresville, North Carolina. “I need to respect Ashley’s family right now.”

Ashley was reportedly involved in a nasty online battle since January 8 with Alison Tinari over her friendship with Drew.

The Funeral Was So Depressing

“Ashley’s parents and sister were really involved in the funeral, helping with communion, reading the prayers and helping to bring the casket out of the church. It was so depressing,” our source adds.

Ashley’s sister, Jennifer Riggitano, exclusively spoke to HollywoodLife.com on behalf of the Riggitano family: “We will be focusing on the issue publicly within the next few weeks and we are celebrating my sister’s life and we would like everyone to respect our privacy as we grieve.”

Ashley Banned Her Bullies From Her Funeral

We told you that Ashley leapt off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River on Feb. 6 leaving behind a note in her Louis Vuitton bag, banning five people, Alison, Teresa CastaldoBeth BassilSamantha Horneff — as well as Ashley’s best friend, and business partner, Victoria Van Thunen, from attending her funeral. These five people were allegedly the ones who bullied her before her death.

The note read: “To any funeral, these people should not be allowed based upon words and actions.”

Our thoughts are with Ashley’s family and friends at this time.

— Chris Rogers, Reporting by Brittany Jackson & Chloe Melas


More Ashley Riggitano News:

  1. Ashley Riggitano’s Boyfriend Speaks After Suicide: ‘She Loved Me’
  2. Ashley Riggitano: Facebook Bullying Fueled Depression & Suicide
  3. Ashley Riggitano Suicide: Jewelry Line With Victoria Van Thunen Revealed

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Brooklyn Dimples

Posted at 10:01 AM on May 23, 2013  

Touché Rita, touché.

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Amish Author Sicily Yoder

Posted at 11:26 AM on February 18, 2013  

I also have an Ashlee Anne, although her name is spelled differently. Very, very sad. Bullying needs to stop!! Both I and my favorite author have been bullied on FB, and I am Anabaptist.

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Marie

Posted at 4:21 PM on February 16, 2013  

Kristen HONEY, I DO KNOW how troubled Ashley was!!! I DO KNOW about her previous suicide attempt(so does the entire world thanks to a FINE young man and GIRL) What makes you think she wasn’t hospitalized in the past? No one knows for sure except her family.(as it should be a private thing) You must come from a PERFECT family, one that sounds SELFISH to me and has no regard for Human life! (other than your own)
It’s a sad world, if you’re an example of the future, of our country!

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Kristen

Posted at 1:13 PM on February 15, 2013  

This is absurd. Ashley had SERIOUS mental issues and a drug addiction. She is not a “celebrity,” but rather a coward. Her family needs a reality check and to take responsibility for neglecting their daughter. They should have gotten her help rather than an apartment in New York City. They spoiled her with material goods instead of tough love. What kind of parent allows there mentally disturbed daughter who previously tried to overdose live on their own.

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Marie

Posted at 5:52 PM on February 15, 2013  

Kristen, you have no idea what you are talking about! I know the family and they have NEVER, EVER, neglected their daughter! She was under a doctor’s care and she was NOT addicted to drugs! Their choices for her were always made with a professional guiding them. Please don’t criticize or judge someone unless you have walked in their shoes or know the REAL TRUTH!

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Kristen

Posted at 8:34 PM on February 15, 2013  

Wake up, honey. You’re just as delusional as they are. The truth will come out and when it does all of you will realize how naive you are.

 
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Kristen

Posted at 8:44 PM on February 15, 2013  

If you know the family so well then you should know that she was troubled her entire life. You should know that she tried to kill herself LESS than a year ago. She should have been hospitalized not in a taxi alone on a ton of drugs unsupervised. She was beyond selfish and had no regard for ANYONE (including her family) but herself.

 
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Brooklyn Dimples

Posted at 9:38 AM on May 23, 2013  

And you know ALL THIS how? Hmm. I could have swore that Ashley was an adult. I could have swore that Ahsley was successful,had a career and a business getting ready to launch. Hmm. What parent can FORCE an adult to stay at home? Or are you saying that Ashley should have been forced to live out her life in some mental hospital, doped up on medications for the remainder of her life, all in an attempt to prevent her from suicide? That is what is SELFISH! Who wants to live like that?

How dare you blame the parents or family for this tragedy. Just how dare you!

So since you know all this, how long exactly did you know Ashley and her family? Huh? Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

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Sherry

Posted at 12:57 PM on February 14, 2013  

This family is showing great restraint. If this had been my little sister, these girls would need some serious dental work and facial reconstruction surgery and I would wind up in jail.

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Marie

Posted at 6:01 PM on February 15, 2013  

Sherry, I applaud you! I have no doubt that these girls (yes girls) will get what’s coming to them. Bullying is a two way street. Both parties are responsible. It just boggles my mind that if it was all Ashley doing the bullying, why didnt “those girls” tell their parents, press charges(it’s against the law in NJ to bully) and get a restraining order against her????? Could it be that these girls enjoyed the turmoil that they were causing? Did they think that they were funny??? (Talk about shallow)So sad that it had to come to this ending.

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Rita

Posted at 11:59 AM on February 16, 2013  

That’s ridiculous. People have falling outs, especially in the ultra-competitive New York fashion industry. Some people are mean to others and some people bring problems onto themselves, just like Ms. Van Thunen wrote on her status. It is the responsibility of the mentally ill to take care of themselves, to be on the right medications, yes, adderall and klonopin are often key meds for people with add/bipolar disorder but there should have also been meds like Celexa and Wellbutrin in there. It’s apparent that they all lived around drugs, “all you care about is picking up your drugs” and that nothing could be worse for a person with bipolar disorder to abuse prescription meds, especially benzos or pain killers. It takes a truly sick person to jump off a bridge and with all due respect to the departed Ashley, it’s not Ms. Van Thunen’s fault that she did so.

If people need someone to blame, how about the doctor who prescribed her those meds? He obviously didn’t check or care if she was on real meds to control her depression. Regular people don’t jump from bridges and they find new friends when they have falling outs with a certain social group.

RIP Ashley, but to blame those girls is ludicrous. Even the girl who said she should commit suicide is blameless, even though that’s a horrible thing to say.

 
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