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Bodyguard found Chris Cornell on floor after kicking in door, report says

Posted at 3:32 PM, May 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-19 17:17:41-04

A newspaper is reporting that a Detroit police report says a bodyguard gave singer Chris Cornell two prescription pills for anxiety about an hour before finding him unresponsive on the bathroom floor of a hotel room.

The Detroit News reports reports Friday that it obtained the police report but doesn't say how. Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Moreno says the department isn't commenting.

The local medical examiner says initial autopsy results indicate Cornell hanged himself after performing with his band Soudgarden on Wednesday night. Cornell's family disputes the finding, saying they're awaiting toxicology tests. A family attorney says Cornell had a prescription for the anti-anxiety drug Ativan.

The police report says Cornell's bodyguard found him around 12:15 a.m. Thursday, after kicking in the locked door to his suite. The report says the musician had an exercise band around his neck.
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The family of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell is disputing "inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally" killed himself.

The family said in a statement that without toxicology tests completed, they can't be sure what led to his death, or if any substances were involved. According to lawyer Kirk Pasich, Cornell had a prescription for the anti-anxiety drug Ativan, which he said has various side effects.

The musician was found dead in his Detroit hotel room Wednesday after performing at a concert.

Cornell's wife, Vicky Cornell, said in the statement that when she spoke to her husband after the Detroit show, he told her he may have taken "an extra Ativan or two" and was slurring his words.

The medical examiner in Detroit said Cornell hanged himself. Police told two Detroit newspapers the singer was found with a band around his neck.