MYSTERY surrounds the reasons why a happily married Stretford man decided to take his own life.

On April 4, John Murphy died when he was hit by a high-speed passenger train at Urmston Train Station.

At Stockport Coroner’s Court on October 13, deputy coroner Joanne Kearsley recorded a verdict that the 55-year-old father-of-one took his own life.

But Ms Kearsley said she was unable to find a reason why.

”In terms of why that has happened, I wish I could give you that answer but I just can’t,” she told members of John’s family including Mary, his wife of 20 years.

”There seems to be no reason at all as to why this has occurred.”

The court heard how John, a builder, was born in County Limerick in Ireland and was one of 14 children.

After three years in the army, John moved to England in 1977 and a decade later met and later married Mary, a nurse at Trafford General Hospital.

The couple lived on Henshaw Street and had a happy marriage.

Mary said the pair were always together ‘like tweedledee and tweedledum’.

She described John as a good husband who loved socialising, singing, playing his accordian, wildlife and visiting family and friends in Ireland.

“He was an extremely popular individual with his family, his friends and his work colleagues.

“He would talk to anybody, even people he had never met,” she said.

After what Mary described as a ‘normal’ weekend, John had got up for work on Monday April 4, and when Mary called him at 6am he said he was on the bus on the way to work.

But for reasons unknown, instead of getting on the bus, John went to Urmston Train Station where he took his own life.

“He loved to make people happy not sad and he had never suffered from depression - quite the opposite.

“He had everything to live for,” Mary said.