“He was never the same after Chris’s death”: How Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, 41, hanged himself on
birthday of late friend Chris Cornell – despite friends believing he “was in a good place.”
Friends and family of Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington are in absolute “shock” over the rock star's apparent
suicide as it's revealed they believed he “was in a good place in his life”.
The 41-year-old was found dead in his home in Palos Verdes near Los Angeles shortly before 9am on Thursday.
A Los Angeles County coroner confirmed they were investigating Bennington's death as an apparent suicide but no
additional details were available.
Law enforcement officials say Bennington hanged himself in his bedroom and he was home alone at the time, according
to TMZ. He was found upstairs by his housekeeper.
'”Chester was one of the brightest and most talented people on this planet, and he lived life to the fullest,” a close friend
told RadarOnline, adding that the Bennington suffered from demons.
Bennington's suicide came on the day of his late lifelong friend Chris Cornell's birthday. The Soundgarden rocker killed
himself in May by hanging. Cornell would have turned 53.
“Chester and Chris were so close, and he was never the same after Chris’s death,” the friend told Radar.
The friend of Bennington's also noted that Cornell's death deeply affected Bennington, who also struggled with “addiction
issues”.
“But everyone thought that he had it licked. He seemed to be at a good place in his life. It is just so tragic and there are
no words,” the friend told Radar.
His bandmates were said to be blindsided by Chester's suicide with sources
telling TMZ they had plans to attend a photo shoot in Hollywood later on
Thursday.
One Linkin Park band member went to pick him up on Thursday morning but
arrived to find police already at his home.
The singer had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was married and is
survived by his six children from two relationships.
Chester had flown back to Los Angeles on Wednesday night. He had been
spending time in Arizona with his wife Talinda, but she remained behind.
Chester, as well as Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson, had performed Leonard
Cohen's “Hallelujah” for the crowd of mourners at Cornell's funeral, many of
whom were moved to tears.
Linkin Park was on tour following the release of the band's latest album One
More Light. They had a show at New York's Citi Field scheduled for next week
with Blink 182.
They played together for the last time on July 7 in Birmingham, England.
The band released its newest music video just two hours before news of his
death emerged on Thursday.
Bennington was married to his second wife Talinda, a former Playboy model, for 12 years. He divorced his first
wife Samantha Marie Olit in 2005 after nine years of marriage.
The frontman had been open about his history of substance abuse and admitted in one interview in 2011 that he had
once been a “full blown, raging alcoholic”.
He admitted to smoking pot after his parents divorced when he was 11. The drug use then spiraled into cocaine and
meth.
Bennington had also previously spoken out about being sexually abused as a seven-year-old, saying he had been
molested by an older male friend.
“If I think back to when I was really young, to when I was being molested, to when all these horrible things were going on
around me, I shudder,” he said in one interview.
He went to rehab for his drug and alcohol addiction after marrying his second wife and said he really began to change in
2007.
In a 2011 interview, he said he was sober.
“I don't drink. I choose to be sober now. I have drunk over the last six years, but I just don't want to be that person
anymore.”
Linkin Park's sixth and latest album, One More Light, jumped to the top of the Billboard chart when it was released in
May. [...]
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