A STUDENT near the end of a Masters degree threw himself off a multi-storey car park after leaving a note to his parents saying -- I'm an academic fraud.
But the family of Lee Kuczer and his lecturers said they were baffled as to why he would do such a thing as he appeared to have a bright future ahead of him.
An inquest heard that the last call Lee, of Blackburn, made on his mobile phone before plunging to his death was to the ambulance service to report the incident.
The 25-year-old Manchester University student, was expected to continue studying and take a doctorate but in a letter left for his parents, Myron and Mary Kuczer, of Elim Place, Blackburn, he said that he felt he was "an academic fraud".
Mr Kuczer told the inquest that he was mystified by his son's words. And he said safety measures should be put in place so the tragedy was not repeated.
Mr Kuczer said: "I really don't understand what he meant by academic fraud.
"He always did enough to get through any course he was doing and he was always focused. I would not have called him an academic fraud and neither did his lecturers.
"They have told me they had no indications there was anything wrong. They were satisfied with his work and his commitment, in fact they even said he was a pleasure to teach, one of the best students they have known."
Lee had completed a degree at Salford University and had studied a Masters in Social Science at Manchester University, where he was taking his PhD.
A spokesman for the university confirmed he had attended but said it was policy that they did not comment on individual students.
The inquest heard that Lee had been due to hand in his final dissertation on October 1.
A keen Everton fan, he had come home on the weekend of September 22 to watch the match between his team and Blackburn Rovers.
Mr Kuczer said, apart from a slight concern that he had lost weight, there had been nothing different about Lee.
He said they had tried to contact Lee later in the week after receiving a letter containing some money on the day of their wedding anniversary.
They had not been concerned when they could not get any reply because they were aware he was working on his dissertation.
Mr Kuczer said: "Sometimes, when he was coming to the end of his studies, he would cut himself off from everyone so he could concentrate on what he was doing."
"We didn't think there was anything strange in not being able to contact him."
Lee jumped from the top of the multi-storey car park into Ainsworth Street at 6pm on Saturday, September 29.
PC Andy Maltman said no witnesses had been found to the incident but Lee had been identified as being responsible for a phone call to the ambulance service advising them of someone jumping from the multi-storey.
Mr Kuczer told the inquest: "I wouldn't like anybody to go through what we have been through. You would think it would be possible to fence the car park off so people can't jump off.
"Because of Lee's case we have learned that other people have jumped off the multi-story car park in the past."
But after the inquest a spokesman for Standard Life, which owns the multi-storey, said railings would not be erected.
Judy Ditchburn said: "This was obviously a tragedy and our thoughts go to the family. At the time of the incident we looked at the possibility of safety measures but what this man had to do was climb 5ft over the wall and jump from the parapet. It's a terribly sad but if somebody is that determined to take their own life, putting railings up would not prevent that."
Coroner Michael Singleton, recording a suicide verdict, said Lee would have died instantly from multiple injuries.
He said: "He was someone who clearly had so much to offer but, for some reason, he felt at that particular time that the only option open to him was this.
"It is a great tragedy that he did not feel able to discuss his problems openly."
Speaking after the inquest Dr Tony Wright, an expert in stress in education and a lecture for the Open University, said: "There are many factors to stress and for a student the dissertation can often be a key one.
"Students feeling the stress of their studies should seek advice although they often feel very isolated. Its a vicious circle."
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