[The Lizard of Oz]

bacon, I wonder what psych prescription drugs your friend was taking.

One of the most common ways people end up in this hole is they get prescribed some combination of anti-depressants. Some of these can rapidly bring about very intense and almost irresistible suicidal ideation. For some reason these are often hangings -- probably because the drug-induced suicidal impulses are so urgent that people can't even wait to get their hands on a gun.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is what happened here.