I would say the job loss had much to do with it. At my job just before Christmas over 1000 people were laid off...it was horrible. Many were desperate and even suicidal. I kept my job so far.
But his wife filed for divorce in March. He lost his job in August. Maybe he was hoping for a reconciliation, and then the final divorce papers arrived and that was the last straw. At times like that, it's hard to know what to do. But the Bible tells us what not to do. It says, "Thou shall not kill." A million other options were open to him, but he chooses the one least likely to have a good result. Not very logical, considering he was an engineer.