Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Local musician jumps from Skyway

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published July 19, 2006

TAMPA - Michael Scott O'Neill, lead guitarist of the alternative rock band the Unrequited Loves, a former editor at the Tampa Tribune and a fixture of the local music scene, died Monday evening after he jumped from the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

O'Neill, who was 41, died about 6:48 p.m., according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. A passing motorist saw him park his car along the southbound side of the center span and go over the rail, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

The Coast Guard later found his body.

The youngest of six, O'Neill was born in Saint Clair, Mich., in 1965, said his sister, Margaret Quilty of Orlando. He came to Florida as a child. For 18 years, he was events editor at the Tribune, she said.

He left the job a few months ago.

O'Neill was devoted to his family, she said, especially to his parents.

He was "the most loyal son that there could be," his sister said.

He was not married and had no children.

"He had been suffering from depression and had a series of losses," she said. "His passing is felt by many people."

O'Neill of Tampa was widely known in local music circles playing many local venues.

Keith Bartlett, 29, was the Unrequited Loves' bass player until recently.

"Mike wrote all the songs, and phenomenally so," he said. "Really smart song writer."

He will be missed, Bartlett said.

[Last modified July 23, 2006, 13:47:30]