Despite TMZ’s premature report stating Chester Bennington had traces of MDMA (ecstasy) in his system, TMZ has also discovered news that the late Linkin Park frontman attempted suicide nine months prior to his death. Apparently, the L.A. County Coroner was aware that Bennington got himself obliterated, hog-tied himself, and ended up throwing himself into his swimming pool. This information was apparently altered from the autopsy report.
Sources familiar with the investigation informed TMZ that Bennington’s widow, Talinda, told the Coroner’s investigator that Bennington attempted suicide after consuming massive amounts of alcohol and ended up throwing himself into his pool back in November 2016. During that time, Bennington changed his mind and was able to save his life by breaking free from the restraint and climbing out of the pool.
TMZ stated that Talinda’s lawyer, Ed McPherson, contacted the County lawyer for the Coroner last Friday, asking for this information to be redacted. After a few disagreements, this information ended up being altered due to “marital privilege.” Additional TMZ sources discussed that there’s no such thing as “marital privilege” during an autopsy investigation and this type of information should have never been kept as a secret.
The assistant chief Coroner Ed Winter told TMZ that “The report stands as is.” It’s no secret that Bennington suffered with depression, we saw that since Linkin Park’s debut album 2000’s Hybrid Theory. Suffering from mental illness and depression can feel like a lost and helpless battle. There are many people who refuse to seek help and prefer alternative methods to medicate themselves such as alcohol and drugs in order to numb their pain and existence. Unfortunately, feeding into this substance addiction, of any kind, end up doing more harm than good and it’s best to not be afraid to face your issues by urgently seeking help.
The National Suicide Prevention hotline is 1-800-273-8255.
