911 Call, Suicide Scene Photos From Night Of CHRIS CORNELL's Death Released

July 11, 2017

Audio of the 911 call made by a hotel employee on the night that SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell hung himself in a Detroit hotel room has been obtained by local ABC-TV affiliate WXYZ, while The Detroit News has obtained police records on the incident through the Freedom Of Information Act, including photos of the room and the exercise band he used to hang himself from a bathroom door.

In the 911 call, the hotel employee states: "I have a non-responsive guest in the hotel, a 50-year-old male inside of Room 1136," to which the dispatcher responds, "Non-responsive — he's not breathing?" The hotel employee responds, "No. They found out that the guest is attempting to hang himself, so they're trying to get him down so they can assist with CPR."

Meanwhile, the documents reveal that Cornell's wife Vicky called the singer's bodyguard Martin Kirsten "because he did not sound like he was okay" on the phone. According to the documents, Vicky also called the hotel's front desk but claimed a female employee hung up on her.

Kirsten proceeded to kick down the main door of Cornell's hotel room and the interior bedroom door, finding the singer with an elastic exercise band around his neck.

Medical personnel arriving on the scene attempted to resuscitate Cornell for an hour, but he was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m. on May 18. While toxicology reports revealed a mix of prescription drugs in his system, the official cause of death was suicide by hanging.

The new information also fills gaps in the timeline, which some fans have questioned.

Photos from the room have also been released, depicting the elastic band in the bathroom and other materials.

Chris struggled with substance addiction since his teen years, but had been sober since 2003 and, according to Vicky, had not relapsed since 2009.

The coroner's report revealed that he had the sleep aid Ativan, a mild sedative called Butalbital found in migraine medication, a decongestant and caffeine in his system when he was found dead, along with an anti-opioid called Narcan that was administered by EMTs on the scene.

Vicky told People that Chris was prescribed Ativan last year as a sleep aid but recently still seemed deprived of rest. She added that he did not seem like himself when they spoke for the last time by phone shortly before his death, saying "He was on a rant. I said, 'You need to tell me what you took,' and he just got mean. That wasn't my Chris."

In addition to Vicky, Chris is survived by three children: 12-year-old Toni, 11-year-old Christopher and 17-year-old Lily, the latter from a previous marriage. He was cremated and laid to rest on May 26 in Los Angeles.

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