Chris Cornell's Widow Travels To Detroit In Search Of Answers In Her Husband's Death
DETROIT (WWJ) - The wife of late rocker Chris Cornell has traveled to Detroit to ask more questions about his suicide here last May.
Sources at the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office confirmed to WWJ Newsradio 950 that Vicky Cornell arrived in Detroit last Friday with an entertainment attorney. They had a meeting scheduled with the Medical Examiner, but were so late that the Examiner wasn't able to keep the appointment. The widow was able to pick up slides of microscopic tissue that were taken as evidence in the case.
It's unclear at this time if the meeting will be rescheduled.
An autopsy conducted by the ME's office concluded the 52-year-old Soundgarden frontman hanged himself in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel, a short time after a sold out concert at the Fox Theatre — but Vicky Cornell has said she has a hard time believing he would take his own life.
A police source talking to WWJ said Cornell went back to his hotel room after the May 18 show; and, shortly after midnight, his wife called band members and asked if they would check on Cornell. A bodyguard for the band, along with MGM security, broke into the locked room and found Cornell dead in the bathroom with a strap around his neck.
Some addiction experts say that as a former addict, Cornell should not have been taking the Ativan that he had obtained with a prescription. The anti-anxiety medication can cause suicidal thoughts.
Toxicology tests showed the presence of Ativan, barbiturates, caffeine, naloxone — an anti-opioid drug — and a decongestant in Cornell's system, although an autopsy concluded that non of the drugs contributed to this death.
The ME source said Vicky Cornell has been questioning the Medical Examiner about the Ativan issue, regarding the possible effects on the singer's state of mind — but that that's just not the province of an ME.
Cornell, who also fronted the supergroup Audioslave, is probably best known for his 1994 hit Black Hole Sun.