Chris Cornell Cremated, Wife Vicky Coping With the Loss 'as Well as She Can'
Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell was cremated in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the singer's attorney, Kirk Pasich, tells ET.
Cornell, who died following a Detroit, Michigan, concert on May 17, will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on May 26. The public is welcome to visit the late singer's gravesite after 3 p.m. on Friday, after the private service concludes.
Pasich also tells ET that the grunge icon's wife, Vicky Cornell, is doing her best to deal with his death. The couple had been married since 2004 and shared two children together, 12-year-old daughter Toni and 11-year-old son Christopher.
"Vicky is a very strong person," he says. "She and Chris were always all about their kids. She's a strong person. She's coping with this as well as she can for her and the kids."
Vicky reacted to her late husband's death with a heartbreaking statement last Friday, remembering Cornell as a "devoted husband and father."
"Chris' death is a loss that escapes words and has created an emptiness in my heart that will never be filled," the statement read. "He was my best friend. His world revolved around his family first and of course, his music, second."
Last week, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office told ET that Cornell's autopsy had been completed and the cause of death was ruled suicide by hanging, though Vicky as well as Pasich have called the ruling into question.
"I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life," Vicky said in a statement.
"Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris -- or if any substances contributed to his demise," Pasich added. "Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages. The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions."
NEWS: Chris Cornell's Wife Opens Up About Singer's Death and Their Last Moments Together
Cornell was honored Saturday with a special tribute during night one of the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. Soundgarden was scheduled to headline the music event before the rocker's unexpected death on Wednesday night. He was 52 years old.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
-- Reporting by Brendon Geoffrion
