Banker killed himself after refusing pills to ease severe back pain
A HIGH-flying banker hanged himself after refusing to take medication for his chronic back pain in case it affected his work, an inquest heard.
Robert Snape, 36, a vice president of the global Citibank, was left in agony by his condition.
But he did not take any painkillers as he wanted to keep a clear head for his high-pressured job. The banker was found by a colleague on March 8 at the Marriott Hotel Colonia Santa Fe in the financial district of Mexico City, where they had been staying.
The fraud risk manager, from Mickleover, Derby, had been living in Budapest since 2012 while working for the bank, one of the world’s biggest financial institutions.
An inquest heard his back pain would have been made worse by the cramped conditions of the 14-and-a-half-hour flight from Budapest to Mexico City.
Prior to taking his life, Mr Snape had researched physiotherapy options on his phone as the pain became so bad it started affecting his mobility. He did not access any websites about suicide or self-harm.
He had suffered chronic back problems since the age of 16 but did not take any medication in case it clouded his judgment at work. Yesterday Derby and South Derby-was shire Coroners Court heard Mr Snape had no history of mental illness and was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of his death.
A report by Mexican police stated his cause of death as asphyxia by hanging. A postmortem in Derby also showed an indication of asphyxia.
Senior coroner Dr Robert Hunter recorded a conclusion of suicide. He said: ‘Robert [suffered] from chronic back pain since the age of 16. Latterly it affecting his gait, walking and sitting. He did not take any medication for his pain because it might cloud his thinking.
‘Robert died as a result of his own actions ... His back pain was a significant factor in Robert’s mental state.
‘The balance of his mind was temporarily disturbed. The severe pain had clouded his judgment.’ According to Mr Snape’s LinkedIn profile he had been working as a fraud risk manager at Citibank since October 2016. Prior to Hungary, he worked in Barcelona.
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