Former ‘Glee’ Star Mark Salling Dead at 35 From Apparent Suicide

Mark Salling has died by apparent suicide, law enforcement tells . He was 35 years old.

The former Glee star was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography involving a pre-pubescent minor. Prosecutors say he had 50,000 images of underage children.

Salling’s body was found in the Los Angeles River in Sunland, near where he lived, according to TMZ.

The L.A. County Coroner’s office said they could not confirm a death, as they “haven’t spoken to the next of kin yet,” as they are trying to get in touch with his mother.

At his formal plea hearing in December, Salling reportedly told the judge he was on medication to treat his depression. Reports say he appeared in court with a shaved head, looking pale.

Shortly after the plea agreement in October, Salling allegedly attempted suicide by cutting his wrists. He and his lawyers denied that claim.

Before pleading guilty, Salling, who played Puck on the Fox comedy series, worked out a plea deal back in October, agreeing to admit to his crimes and take a sentence of 4-7 years in prison.

However, according to a report by The Blast, the judge told Salling that he could still easily be given the maximum sentence of 20 years. The sentencing was scheduled to take place in March. In the meantime, Salling was out on bail.

Salling was also ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to any of the victims who request it from him. That could have been a lot, as prosecutors say there were more than 50,000 images on Salling’s computer when it was confiscated, with children as young as three years old appearing in the pictures.

Salling was also ordered to enter a treatment program and register as a sex offender. He was legally forbidden from communicating with any person under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian supervising.

Salling was accused of using software to block his IP address while he downloaded the enormous stash of child pornography from April to December of 2015.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, he was caught after he showed some of the images to an adult woman. After he’d showed them to her twice, she reported him to the police, who began their investigation.

In August 2017, Salling reportedly “freaked out” after his alleged suicide attempt and began screaming for help from his roommate, who discovered Salling bleeding and called 911.

The paramedics came to his home and treated Salling, putting him into an ambulance and rushing him to the hospital. Salling was taken for psychiatric evaluation and was taken to a rehab facility for psychological issues several days later.

Pictures of Salling in public that have surfaced around that time showed him frequently wearing long sleeves.

Despite the reports, Salling’s attorney claimed that the story about his suicide attempt is not true.

“Mark is physically fine and Mark is spending time atoning and working on himself,” his lawyer said.