Cornell Family Cites Drug He Was Prescribed; Birthplace of Grunge Mourns ‘Seattle’s Son’

The Latest: Cornell family cites drug he was prescribed

DETROIT (AP) — The family of musician Chris Cornell, who was found dead in his Detroit hotel room, issued a statement through an attorney refuting "inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally" killed himself.

The family said 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.

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 that Cornell killed himself by hanging after performing at a concert. Police told two Detroit newspapers that the singer was found with a band around his neck.

Birthplace of grunge mourns 'Seattle's son' Chris Cornell

SEATTLE (AP) — Grief-stricken Chris Cornell fans left flowers at memorials across Seattle for the musician whose forceful, somber songs helped cement the city's place in rock history.

One of the locations where people gathered was the Sound Garden art sculpture at a Seattle park, for which Cornell's band Soundgarden was named.

Cornell was born and raised in the city and was part of a close-knit group of artists who formed the foundation of what would become the grunge scene that exploded in the early 1990s.

The city's Space Needle went dark at 9 p.m. for an hour in tribute to Cornell.

Authorities say Cornell hanged himself in a Detroit hotel room Wednesday following a Soundgarden concert. The band had reunited in 2010 after years on hiatus.