A man who was found floating naked in a canal had been depressed for weeks before his death, an inquest has heard.
Abraham Atesveha, 32, was discovered unclothed by boaters travelling along the Leeds Liverpool canal at Oswaldtwistle on September 7 last year.
Detectives found no clues as to when Ethiopian-born Mr Atesveha went missing and how he came to be in the water.
Assistant coroner Derek Baker said there was not enough evidence to support a conclusion of suicide but said Mr Atesveha’s life had been ‘spiralling downwards’.
Recording an open conclusion during an inquest at Blackburn Coroners’ Court he said: “There are many unanswered questions which I suspect will never be answered.”
The inquest heard that self-employed plasterer Mr Atesveha had lived in Blackburn ‘on and off’ since 2011. His landlord Yakub Razat said his tenant travelled to London on a regular basis to visit his wife and children and would come back to live in Blackburn after family arguments.
Mr Razut said his friend became depressed in August 2014 and one occasion ‘overreacted’ and shouted when asked him to move bags from outside his flat on Plane Street, Blackburn.
He said: “At that point I knew there was something wrong.”
Mr Razut said the dad seemed non-reactive, had shaved his head and was last seen by a neighbour looking ‘lost and dazed’ on August 29 at 5.30am.
Mr Atesveha’s housemate Ibrahim Usif said he noticed a difference in Mr Atesveha that summer.
In a statement he said: “The last month of his life he was depressed, talking to himself and drinking heavily.”
DCI Simon Upton said there was no foul play but officers found no clothing near the water despite Mr Atesveha state of undress when his body was found five miles from his home in Blackburn.
He said: “My theory is that he probably took his clothes off to speed up what he was trying to achieve or it was a religious thing, I really don’t know.
“Or he didn’t want anyone to know who he was. He has either taken his clothes to the bottom of the canal or they have sunk.”
Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Charles Wilson said there were no signs of injury or struggle and Mr Atesveha died from ‘immersion in water’.
He said it was impossible to say if he had drowned but his body may have been in the water for up to a week.
