Chris Cornell's Widow: Wayne County ME 'Botched' Investigation

DETROIT, MI – Nearly a year after the death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, his widow said that the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office "botched" the investigation and has opened the door to conspiracy theories about his death. As a result, Vicky Cornell says she and her children have been subjected to "constant online attacks."

Vicky Cornell's comments were reported by The Detroit News this week. It was a year ago Thursday when Cornell and his band, Soundgarden, were in Detroit to play a show at the Fox Theatre. It turned out to be the iconic grunge band's final performance.

Just hours after the concert ended, in the early morning hours of May 18, Chris Cornell was found dead in his hotel room at the MGM Grand Detroit. The Medical Examiner's officer ruled his death a suicide by hanging. A police report indicated that he was found with an exercise band around his neck.

But Vicky Cornell has argued that drugs played a major factor in the rock star's death. His bodyguard reportedly had given him two doses of an anti-anxiety medication. There were additional drugs in his hotel room as well, according to reports. Rolling Stone reported last June that seven different drugs were found in Cornell's blood stream, according to a post-mortem toxicology report.

The medical examiner's report, however, does not take into consideration the drugs, Vicky Cornell told The News. Meantime, the Cornell family has hired an expert, Dr. Richard Cote, of University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, to review the autopsy, according to The News report.

Contrary to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's report, Cote wrote that "there is clear evidence of drug ingestion leading to impaired behavior" and the drugs "would impair mental and motor function individually, but have much more powerful effects when found in combination."

A spokeswoman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office did not immediately return a message left by Patch seeking comment.

In the interview with The News, Vicky Cornell said that she wants the Wayne County Medical Examiner to clarify its finding and acknowledge that drugs were in her husband's system at the time of his death.

The News notes that among the conspiracies being floated about the singer's death is that Vicky Cornell wants the cause of death changed so she can get life insurance insurance money. A lawyer for the family, however, told The News that she and her family would not receive any money if the report was changed.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the singer's death, Vicky Cornell and the couple's two children will hold a public memorial service on Friday evening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where he is buried. She announced the memorial via Twitter:

"It is with great emotion I reach out to all of you as the one year anniversary of my husband’s passing approaches. Chris was loved, so much, by so many. The children and I are so grateful to you all for being by our sides throughout all of this," she wrote. "Your love has created a close-knit community, more like a family, to grieve with, to provide support, and to help us heal. We could not have gotten through the last 12 months without you."

Soundgarden was one of earliest grunge bands to emerge from the Pacific Northwest during the early 1990s. The band released a handful of records, including Louder Than Love, Badmotorfinger and Superunknown. Backed by a wailing guitars, it was Chris Cornell's piercing voice that defined the band. Although the band had broken up and Cornell went onto to pursue a solo career and short tenure with Audioslave, he and his Soundgarden bandmates reconnected last year to tour.

At the Fox Theatre on May 17, Cornell was upbeat and seemed excited to perform, and told the crowd it was great to be back in the Motor City. After playing for more than two hours – the setlist included "Outshined," "My Wave," "Black Hole Sun" and other classic Soundgarden hits – the band wrapped up the show with the eerie "Slaves & Bulldozers," which included a medley of the Led Zeppelin remake of "In My Time Of Dying."

It was the last song he would sing onstage.

Photo by Jeff Stacklin, Patch