Nicole Moschella
Vicky Cornell is opening up about her husband Chris Cornell’s final night.
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On May 18, the Soungarden and Audioslave frontman was found dead in a Detroit hotel room after performing one final concert. The corner ruled his cause of death to be suicide by hanging but his wife thinks there’s more to the tragedy.
“My Chris was happy, loving, caring and warm,” Vicky said in this month’s issue of PEOPLE. “This was not a depressed man—it wasn’t like I missed that. What I missed were the signs of addiction.”
Cornell previously struggled with addiction issues but had been sober for years, according to his wife. Shortly after his death, it was revealed that Cornell had prescription drugs and an anti-anxiety medication in his system. Vicky is unsure how the medical examiner could so quickly rule the death a suicide without waiting for toxicology results or a full autopsy report.
She believes the drugs in his system significantly altered his state of mind.
“He didn’t want to die,” she said. “If he was of sound mind, I know he wouldn’t have done this.”
She continued, “Chris was humble, sweet, kind and good, with the patience of saint.” The family was reportedly looking forward to an upcoming trip to Disney World with their kids, Toni, 12, and Christopher, 11. Cornell was also a father to Lily, 17, from a previous marriage.
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Because Cornell was sober since 2009, she is now left guessing if she missed the signs of a relapse.
“I relaxed, I guess,” she told the publication.
The rocker was prescribed the Ativan as a sleep aid last year though it left him feeling deprived of rest. Vicky said that was a sign. Following the Detroit concert, Cornell reportedly woke his wife up by turning the lights off and on in their home, remotely using an app on his phone. Vicky said when she awoke, she called her husband.
“He was on a rant,” she said. “I said, ‘You need to tell me what you took,’ and he just got mean. That wasn’t my Chris.”
That’s when she decided to send Martin Kirsten, Cornell’s bodyguard, to check on him. After breaking down the doors, Kirsten found him slumped in the bathroom. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
“Addiction is a disease,” Vicky said. “That disease can take over you and has full power. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure other children don’t have to cry like mine have cried.”
