Wayne Heinen lost his best friend on June 24.

“He was the greatest guy on earth,” said Heinen, who had known Rodney Wells since 1988 and spoke to Postmedia on behalf of the family.

When Wells, 61, was found dead next to his truck in his Lake Country backyard, the cause was readily apparent. He had taken his own life with a firearm. What torments the family isn’t just what happened, but why.

Wells had recently experienced an uncharacteristic battle with insomnia, and had been prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric medications. He was struggling to cope with side-effects of those medications, said Heinen.

After his death, the family requested an autopsy and toxicology tests.

“We needed to know what was in his system,” said Heinen.

The Kelowna coroner refused.

“I begged them. I even ask

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