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Chris Cornell’s Funeral Plans Revealed Days After His Tragic Death

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 12:41 PST, May 20, 2017

Just days after allegedly committing suicide following a performance in Detroit, former Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell’s funeral plans have been revealed. Sources close to the situation reportedly confirmed to CNN that Cornell will be memorialized and laid to rest on Friday, May 26. The funeral is slated to take place in Los Angeles, and Chris Cornell will be interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

According to a source, at this time it is unknown whether or not the funeral will be open to Chris Cornell’s legions of fans, or if it will remain a private event for close friends and family.

“The family is thinking about a (public) memorial for fans, but is coping now with their loss and the funeral service.”

It has also been reported that Cornell’s remains will be transported from Michigan back to Los Angeles sometime on Sunday. Since his body was discovered on May 17, the 52-year-old musician’s cause of death has been determined by the Wayne County medical examiner to be a “suicide by hanging.” Chris Cornell was found unresponsive in a hotel room bathroom just hours after his final performance. As USA Today reports, he had “struggled” during the show in a way that was apparent to those in attendance.

Since his unexpected death, footage of the final Chris Cornell performance has gone viral. (Warning: Explicit language.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnpKcSY5pLs

Those who saw his final show say that it was “clear that something wasn’t right” with Chris Cornell during the hour-long performance. He was reportedly staggering and somewhat lethargic. He reportedly missed lyrics and even whole verses of songs he’d been singing for decades. He appeared agitated and even wandered off stage in the midst of one song, leaving his band hanging for several whole minutes, then complained on his mic about instruments.

At times, Cornell couldn’t seem to manage to sync his vocal talents up with the music being played by the band, and he even stopped singing several times throughout the show.

In all, Chris Cornell’s final performance wasn’t up to his normal level of professionalism; even so, his fans seemed to eat it up, and nobody could predict what would happen in the next few hours.

Vicky Cornell, Chris Cornell’s widow, may have figured out what caused her husband to be so out of sorts. In a statement released after his death, Mrs. Cornell claimed that her husband told her that he’d taken “an extra Ativan or two” on Wednesday night. Vicky Cornell was so concerned about her husband’s confession that she contacted his security team and asked someone to check on Chris in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit.

It was Cornell’s security personnel who ultimately broke down his hotel room’s bathroom door and discovered the legendary Seattle grunge rocker unresponsive on the floor. Evidence at the scene indicated that he’d hung himself.

Despite the evidence and the medical examiner’s determination that Chris Cornell committed suicide, Vicky Cornell doesn’t believe her husband took his own life “intentionally.” Rather, Cornell’s widow and other family members believe that substances that he may have ingested could have clouded his judgement and caused him to do something he wouldn’t otherwise have done. Kirk Pasich, a lawyer for Cornell’s family, released a statement that confirms that Chris’ loved ones are waiting for his pending toxicology results.

“The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions.”

It is unknown precisely when those results may be available, or what impact (if any) the use of Ativan (a prescription anxiety medication sold under the generic name lorazepam) may have had on the final hours of Chris Cornell’s life.

In the coming days, it is expected that Chris Cornell’s family will announce whether or not his funeral will be open to mourning fans.

[Featured Image by Aaron Gilbert/MediaPunch/IPX/AP Images]

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