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Cory Monteith’s Dad Talks Son’s Tragic Death: “He Was Involved a Little More in Drugs Than Anybody Knew”

Cory Monteith's dad opened up about his son's struggles.
Cory Monteith's dad opened up about his son's struggles.

Cory Monteith's friends and family are still reeling from the news that the Glee actor is gone forever. In a new interview with ET Canada, the star's estranged father, Joe Monteith, recounted the moment he found out on Saturday, July 13, that his 31-year-old son had died of a deadly drug combination.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars we lost in 2013

"When they did break the news to my wife, she almost fell over, in fact, I had to grab her," said Joe, who divorced Cory's mother, Ann McGregor, when Cory was 7. "And I had to ask them again what was that you said? It really didn't sink in. It still really hasn't."

Joe, who was estranged from the FOX star until recently, said that it was Cory's mother who first became aware of their son's drug abuse.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars gone too soon

"I guess he was involved a little more in drugs than anybody knew at the time," he said. "His mother who was there with him all the time, she started picking up on it, you know stuff was missing, money here, stuff like that."

On Tuesday, July 16, Cory's body was cremated in Vancouver following a private viewing with his mother, brother Shaun, and girlfriend Lea Michele, TMZ reported. Joe was not in attendance at the viewing and told the site he was "totally devastated" that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye.

Related: PHOTOS: Cory and Lea's romance

"I always loved both my sons and am going to miss Cory very, very much," Joe told TMZ. "I'm saddened at the fact that I couldn't have been there to see my son before he was cremated." 

As Us Weekly previously reported, the British Columbia Coroners Service confirmed on Tuesday, July 16, that the cause of Monteith's sudden death was "mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol." The actor had recently completed a stay in rehab for his addiction, but he relapsed before his passing. He was found dead in his room at the Fairmount Pacific Rim Hotel on July 13.

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