A Blackburn man who cited children and religion as his protective factors in life died from suicide a coroner has ruled.
Shefqut Munir, 43, was found by his flatmate at an address in Preston New Road on December 4, 2024.
His inquest was held at Blackburn Town Hall with Coroner Richard Taylor explaining that his flatmate or family were unaware of his mental health struggles, with Mr Munir having battled depression.
After his marriage broke down around two years before his death, Mr Munir reported headaches and a collapse episode to his GP.
In February 2022, he had a meeting with his GP, who he told about his low mood and poor sleep due to his recent divorce and lack of access to his children, and reported occasional suicidal thoughts.
He was prescribed anti-depressants and was given a number for the crisis team and referred to them.
In June 2023, Mr Munir had just returned from Hajj and had reported a better mood, however, by April 2024 he was described by his GP as feeling miserable and having suicidal thoughts.
His sister, who was present at the inquest, said: “When you go to Mecca, the vibe and atmosphere is amazing.
“You can be depressed but when you are there you can have that time away and you don’t have to be with people, it was just him and his god.
“It was a good time in his life.”
Mr Munir, who organised Hajj trips to Mecca for fellow Muslims, stated to his GP that he wanted to see his children which would greatly improve his mental health.
Evidence provided by Talking Therapies' psychological well-being officer Anisa Cara stated Mr Munir had struggled with relationship difficulties but denied ever wanting to act on his suicidal thoughts.
Ms Cara's statement said: “For the last three to four months, he has been unhappy.
"He cited his children and religion as protective factors.
“He would use the emergency services and the Samaritans and used distraction techniques of praying and listening to religious texts.”
Steven Slater, the Senior Investigating Officer from Lancashire Constabulary for this incident, said Mr Munir was found in the communal area of his flat and there was no evidence of third-party involvement.
The officer also mentioned Mr Munir had been arrested twice for trying to gain access to his friend's house without him being there, but both no charges were made in either case.
Additionally, Mr Slater told the court of an incident on November 30, when Mr Munir's ex-wife was concerned after she received a message from him saying that he was going to try and end his life, as he was upset that his children did not want to see him.
Mr Slater said: “It would appear from that message that he was in a low place at the time.
“A message was found in his pocket, and it does indicate he intended to end his life and was not happy with the current status in the family.”
His sisters stated no one from the police had spoken to either of them after his death, and said they could have helped with the investigation.
They outlined a lot of things had been left out from the investigation, and no one had followed up with them.
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However, they were unaware of his mental health struggles and he had not mentioned he was on anti-depressants.
Coroner Richard Taylor said: “It is very hard hearing you had no idea about it and as a sister, you would have wanted to know.
“Families will come to questions and ask, 'what if?'.
"I can’t answer those, of course, but he was very troubled and had been for some time."
Coroner Taylor concluded the inquest by stating Mr Munir died by suicide by hanging.
If you are struggling with your mental health, you contact Samaritans day or night on 116 123.
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