That's just the animal inside you that's hungry for gossip talking, because it really doesn't matter. And I know you'll come up with some kind of rationalization for wanting to know, but you should respect the wishes of family and close friends, whatever the reasons may be, especially because it really does not matter, the loss being the same with or without the reason your gossip-hungry brain may expect.

Indeed, this has nothing to do with gossip, but everything with the prevalence of depression & burnout in the tech field. It was addressed by Joel from Fog creek several years ago.