A New York couple who were unable to pay back thousands of dollars in tax leapt to their deaths from the ninth floor of a Madison Avenue building where they worked.

Chiropractor Glenn Scarpelli and his wife Patricia left notes saying that they could not live with their “financial reality”, police sources told The New York Post.

Before they jumped they left rubbish bags with their belongings in.

Javier Guzman, a shoe repairman told the Mail Online that he saw the couple lying in the road. “I didn’t recognise them but they looked young, in their forties”, he said.

Their notes wrapped in plastic bags were found in each of their pockets. Entitled “We had a wonderful life”, Scarpelli wrote about his “financial spiral”.

Public records show that Mr Scarpelli, 53, owed around $213,000 (£162,000) to the federal government and almost $42,000 (£32,000) to the state in unpaid taxes dating back to 2003.

In 2013, the federal government had pursued legal action against Mr Scarpelli for not paying back a $60,000 loan taken out in 2000. He was studying at the Logan College of Chiropractic in St Louis, Missouri. In 2008 he was a vice-president of its alumni association.

“I just don’t understand why this would happen, why they would do this to their kids,” Adam Lamb, a fellow chiropractor and long-time friend told the Post.

“Even with all that debt, it still doesn’t make sense,’’ he added.

The couple lived with their children, Isabella, 20, and Joseph, 19, in the financial district, close to Wall Street.

Default fears grow as talks on US debt ceiling go to wire Show all 2 1 /2 Default fears grow as talks on US debt ceiling go to wire Default fears grow as talks on US debt ceiling go to wire congress-getty.jpg Getty Images Default fears grow as talks on US debt ceiling go to wire white-house.jpg Getty Images

Ms Colant’s note instructed that their children be informed about their deaths, according to a law-enforcement spokesperson.

A friend of their daughter, Isabella said: “Their kids didn’t know anything about their financial problems. None of us did. He seemed like he loved his job.”

Robert Boyce, NYPD chief of detectives said the cause of their money worries was not clear. “Don’t know right now,” he said. “We still have to go further.”

The top cause of financial stress for New Yorkers is paying debt, according to a GOBankingRates study in 2016. Saving money is a struggle, with 69 per cent of Americans having less than $1,000 dollars put by for emergencies.