New reports from the scene of Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington’s death show that he and late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell died in almost identical ways.
On Thursday morning, Bennington, who was 41, was found hanging from a door separating his bedroom from his closet at his Palos Verdes Estates residence. The “In The End” vocalist killed himself on Cornell’s 53rd birthday.
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Similarly, Cornell committed suicide by hanging from a hotel door separating the bedroom and the bathroom.
Bennington was found by the police was a belt around his neck. Cornell was discovered by his bodyguard with an exercise band around his neck.
The latest reports have indicated that there was no evidence of drugs in Bennington’s room. However, there was a partially empty bottle of alcohol, according to TMZ.
Neither Bennington nor Cornell left suicide notes in the room.
More: Chester Bennington Had a Troubled History With Depression and Substance Abuse
The rock musicians toured together for Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution music festival tour in 2007 and 2008. The two seemed to have formed a special bond as Bennington sang at Cornell’s memorial service back in May. While being joined by fellow Linkin Park guitarist, Brad Delson, the two performed Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Shortly after Cornell’s death, Bennington took to Twitter to express his heartfelt condolences.
“I’m still weeping, with sadness, as well as gratitude for having shared some very special moments with you and your beautiful family. You have inspired me in ways you could never have known,” Bennington tweeted.
The “Numb” singer said that Cornell’s voice was “joy and pain, anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one.”
While Bennington did not leave a suicide note behind, he was outspoken about his issues with depression and substance abuse in the past.
In a 2015 interview with Rock Sound, Bennington said of his dark days, “I literally hated life and I was like, ‘I don’t want to have feelings. I want to be a sociopath. I don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to care what other people feel like. I want to feel nothing.’”
During a later interview with Noisecreep, Bennington seemed to have turned a corner with his drinking issues.
“It’s not cool to be an alcoholic. It’s not cool to go drink and be a dumbass,” he said. “It’s cool to be a part of recovery. This is just who I am, this is what I write about, what I do, and most of my work has been a reflection of what I’ve been going through in one way or another.”
Bennington is survived by his wife of 11 years, Talinda Bentley, and their six children.
If you or someone you know needs help and is contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
