‘Glee’ Star Mark Salling’s Reported Cause of Death Revealed

Former Glee star Mark Salling was reportedly found dead near a creek and little league baseball field close to his home in the Sunland area of Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ his body was discovered hanging from a tree, adding that he had been dead for some time when officers located him.

Police were somehow led to the baseball field after they received a call to do a “welfare check” on Salling after a family member reported him as a missing person around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.

After he was found, homicide detectives were called to the scene to rule out foul play, but all evidence reportedly suggests that Salling died by suicide. According to TMZ, the Los Angeles County Coroner arrived to remove Salling’s body from the scene.

The 35-year-old actor’s family confirmed his death on Tuesday, issuing a statement through their lawyer.

“I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning,” the lawyer said. “Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment. He is survived by his mother and father, and his brother. The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected.”

Prior to his passing, Salling was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography involving a pre-pubescent minor. Prosecutors claim he had 50,000 images of underage children.

At his formal plea hearing in December, Salling reportedly told the judge he was on medication to treat depression. He allegedly attempted suicide by cutting his wrists shortly after reaching his plea agreement, though he and his lawyers denied that claim.

Salling, who played Puck on Fox’s musical comedy series, worked out the plea deal which required that he admit to his crimes and take a sentence of 4 to 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, but Salling was out on bail ahead of the court appearance.

As part of his agreement, the actor was also ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to any of the victims who requested it from him. The monetary expense could have been a heavy one for Salling as prosecutors said there were more than 50,000 images on his computer when it was confiscated, with children as young as three years old appearing in the photos.

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.