Mark Salling Autopsy Does Not Confirm Actor Killed Himself

02/01/2018 09:30 am EST

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that former Glee star Mark Salling was found dead in a riverbed, but has yet to release an official cause of death.

That means although authorities say Salling's body was found hanging from a tree, investigators cannot rule Salling's death a suicide just yet.

The first of the coroner's reports was obtained by the Daily Mail. While there is still no cause or manner of death, the investigation is still ongoing and Salling's body is being held at the facility for further testing.

According to reports, Salling had cut his wrists in a suicide attempt months ago while awaiting trial on federal child pornography charges, although both he and his lawyers denied the suicide attempt at the time.

At his plea hearing in December, Salling told the judge he was on medication for depression after the judge asked about his appearance. Eyewitnesses say he looked thin, pale and sickly. He had shaved his head, and he reportedly wore long sleeves covering his wrists.

At the time of his death, Salling was six weeks away from his sentencing hearing, where he faced four to seven years in prison after entering a guilty plea to a federal charge of possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

As part of his plea deal, Salling was required to pay $50,000 in restitution to any of his victims who asked for it.

Apparently, Salling had plenty of money to pay, though it's unclear if it would have been enough. According to documents obtained by TMZ, he set up a corporation in 2009 to collect and process his income from Glee. People often do this to streamline their taxes. Salling's company, which is managed by his father, is reportedly worth $1.971 million.

When Salling's computer was confiscated, it reportedly contained more than 50,000 pictures and videos of children as young as 3 years old being abused. If each of those represented another victim, he could have been on the hook for $2.5 billion, making his debt insurmountable.

Salling's victims will still have an opportunity to sue the actor's estate for their $50,000, though it's not as sure of a thing as the restitution would have been in his sentencing. The plea deal included the payment, and once a judge would have signed it in March, the deal would have been set in stone.

By all accounts, the judge didn't feel much sympathy for Salling. He informed the actor that, regardless of the plea deal, he still had the option to hit Salling with the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Salling died on Tuesday, Jan. 30. His family confirmed his death via 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."

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