Mark Salling, 'Glee' Star, Dead at 35 of Apparent Suicide

Actor Mark Salling has died.

Salling's lawyer, Michael Proctor, confirmed his death on Tuesday in a statement to ET.

“I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning," the statement reads. "Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment. He is survived by his mother and father, and his brother. The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected."

A public information officer with the Los Angeles Police Department tells ET that they conducted a death investigation at 8:50 on Tuesday morning at the 11900th block of Big Tujunga Canyon Road, after a missing persons report was filed on Salling at the Foothills LAPD station at 3 a.m. 

ET can can confirm that a black 2007 Infinity parked at the scene belonged to Salling.

A source tells ET that the former Glee star died of an apparent suicide, as TMZ first reported. According to our source, Salling was unsuccessful in trying to take his own life last year but "with the advice of his family, friends and lawyer, decided to check into rehab."

Last October, Salling's lawyer denied a TMZ report that claimed the actor attempted to commit suicide before he struck a plea deal for his child pornography case. Before his death, Salling pleaded guilty to a federal offense of possessing child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, and was facing up to seven years in prison. His formal sentencing had been set for March 7.

Our source says that during Salling's time in rehab, he shared with friends that he suffered from addiction to alcohol. We're told the actor knew he had demons and wanted to do whatever he could to understand them and possibly work on fixing them. The source adds that he tried everything to stay mentally and emotionally OK before his sentencing. 

Still, "Mark was in a dark place for the better part of last year," the source tells ET.

Salling was 35 years old. He is best known for his role as bad boy Noah "Puck" Puckerman on Glee, which he starred in from 2009-2015.

In June of 2016, Salling was indicted on two charges of receiving and possessing child pornography on his laptop computer, a hard drive and 16 gigabyte USB flash drive. Following his arrest on Dec. 29, 2015, Salling's devices were seized, and according to investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department, the items "contained thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography."

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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