Updated at 3 p.m. ET: The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly that Chris Cornell’s cause of death was determined to be “suicide by hanging.”
Original story below:
Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has died after a sold-out Detroit concert on Wednesday, May 17, at age 52. His rep, Brian Bumbery, said in a statement to Us Weekly that Cornell’s death was “sudden and unexpected.” He added that the singer’s family will be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause.” Find out more in the video above, and detailed below.
The musician had been on tour with the Grammy-winning band at the time of his death. Detroit police spokesperson told Us that a family friend found Cornell on the bathroom floor in his room at the MGM Grand Hotel. The death is being investigated as a suicide.
The rocker’s body was found by a family friend at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel after Cornell’s wife called and asked him to check on her husband, according to Woody. After forcing open the hotel room’s door, the friend found Cornell on the bathroom floor.
Ahead of the show, Cornell had tweeted about his excitement at being back in Motor City. “@Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!!” he captioned a picture of the Fox Theatre’s marquee featuring the band.
#Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebullshit pic.twitter.com/BqXx9veFoD
— Chris Cornell (@chriscornell) May 18, 2017
Cornell cofounded seminal Seattle grunge band Soundgarden with guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. The band, known for the rocker’s powerful vocals, found success in the early ’90s with its third album, 1991’s Badmotorfinger, as Soundgarden emerged from the Northwest scene alongside the likes of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Nirvana.
The musician later worked with members of Pearl Jam to form Temple of the Dog, and joined supergroup Audioslave in 2001.
Cornell is survived by his wife, Vicky, and three children.
