This was  certainly a tragic event.  However, its  rarity is what makes it
so newsworthy.  I wonder how  many students have killed themselves instead.
Even those who succeed in  earning the Ph.D. often seem to bear scars.  One
of my friends developed severe colitis while finishing her Ph.D.   My (first)
ex-husband earned his Ph.D. in physiological psychology  after failing  his
Ph.D. orals the first time.  He  was suicidal  for years.  I kept telling  him
that going into a  Ph.D. track program in the field of physiological psychology
 with a BA  in physical  education and finally succeeding showed that he
really had a lot on the ball.  Others  in  the field had their BAs and MAs  in
chemistry, biology, etc.  It's not  so surprising that they did well,  He
still berated  himself for years  over failing  the first time.  Geez!