Autopsy reports show Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell had sedatives and an anxiety drug in his system on the night he died by hanging himself in his Detroit hotel room.
The reports say the drugs didn't contribute to the cause of death but don't elaborate. The reports were released Friday by the Wayne County medical examiner, two weeks after the 52-year-old was found dead.
Dr. Theodore Brown says a resistance band was around Cornell's neck, and the other end was attached to a clip over the top of the bathroom door.
The report says there were sedatives in Cornell's body along with Lorazepam, a drug for anxiety. Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell, has said the toxicology report might shed light on why he killed himself.
About Cornell’s influence on Seattle
With his powerful, nearly four-octave vocal range, Cornell was one of the leading voices of the 1990s grunge movement with Soundgarden, which emerged as one of the biggest bands out of Seattle's emerging music scene, joining the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.
Cornell, who was born in 1964, grew up in Seattle and went to Christ the King Catholic school in North Seattle and Shorewood High School in Shoreline. He and bassist Kim Thayil, a University of Washington graduate, and Western Washington University alum Hiro Yamamoto were roommates when they formed Soundgarden.
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They made their first record in a small triangular building in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood (4230 Leary Way N.W.). It became Reciprocal Recording in 1986, and it’s also where Nirvana recorded their first album, “Bleach.”
Soundgarden's third studio album, "Badmotorfinger," in 1991 spawned enormously popular singles "Jesus Christ Pose," ''Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" that received regular play on alternative rock radio stations.
Cornell also collaborated with members of what would become Pearl Jam to form Temple of the Dog, which produced a self-titled album in 1991 in tribute to friend Andrew Wood, former frontman for Mother Love Bone.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
