It's been an uncomfortable 48 hours for Linkin Park fans, as the toxicology report for the death of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington was released. Bennington died via suicide by hanging in his home, just outside of Los Angeles. He was discovered by a housekeeper and shortly after, a bandmate arrived to pick him up for a scheduled photo shoot, only to see what had happened. He was laid to rest at the end of July, surrounded by friends and family.
While TMZ initially reported that ecstasy was found in his system, that was inaccurate. It was a "presumptive positive" and further testing showed no MDMA (ecstasy) in Bennington's blood stream. But it did show a lot of alcohol. TMZ did more digging into the report, and found a portion that noted Bennington attempted to end his life in 2016, in an equally extreme manner:
Sources familiar with the investigation tell TMZ, Chester's widow, Talinda, told the Coroner's investigator that Chester consumed a large quantity of alcohol, hog-tied himself and threw himself in the pool in November 2016, but had a change of heart and was able to break free from the restraint and climb to safety.
According to TMZ, Talinda's lawyer attempted to contact the coroner and have the passage that revealed that info redacted, and it was, so it is unclear how TMZ got a hold of the un-redacted info.
If you or someone you care about is thinking about suicide, please reach out to someone who can help. Here is an excellent write-up by my friend Stabitha explaining what you should do if you or a friend need help. In the United States, the national Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. International readers can find your country's number here.
