Chris Cornell's wife says rocker wasn't suicidal, family has own theory about his death

The music world suffered a great loss when Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell was found dead in his Detroit hotel room late Wednesday evening. The medical examiner later determined the cause of death to be suicide by hanging, but the rocker's wife said her husband was not suicidal and his family has their own theory about his death.

People noted that Cornell's widow, Vicky, does not believe that her husband intentionally took his own life. She said that he was a family man who loved their children and would not have hurt them by doing such a thing. She thinks him taking extra Ativan is to blame for the suicide.

“He flew home for Mother’s Day to spend time with our family. He flew out mid-day Wednesday, the day of the show, after spending time with the children,” Vicky said. “When we spoke before the show, we discussed plans for a vacation over Memorial Day and other things we wanted to do. When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him”

As we reported, Cornell was found on the bathroom floor with a band around his neck and pronounced dead at the scene. The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes on its website that rare but serious side effects of Lorazepam (Ativan) include confusion, unusual mood or behavior and thoughts of hurting yourself.

Kirk Pasich, attorney for the family, released a statement which read: “Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris — or if any substances contributed to his demise. Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages. The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions.”

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