Today’s generation is attracted to drugs at a very high rate. But what they failed to understand is that no matter how good it sounds that you consume drugs, it is harmful to your health, and in worst-case scenarios, it can even cause death. From 1999 dates caused by drug overdose have increased by 781 percent. Today in this article, we are going to talk about one such case.
Layne Thomas Staley, an aspiring and known name in the world of music, was found dead in his Seattle home because of a particular drug overdose. Before taking a big step and directly jumping into this matter, let’s take a few baby steps and know more about his life and his career.
Layne Staley was born on August 22 in, 1967, in Bellevue, Washington, United States. Before his addiction to drugs took over his life as a whole, he was an American singer and songwriter. Besides being a singer, he was also the lead vocalist in Alice in Chains, an American Rock band, and also one of the creators of heavy metal music.
Alice in Chain’s first album, “We Die Young,” was released in 1990, followed by their second album, Dirt, in 1992. Band’s most of the material were written by their guitarist, Jerry Cantrell, who met Layne Staley in one at a party in Seattle. Dirt has songs related to heroin and its addiction, such as God Smack, Junkman, and What’s my drug of choice/Well, what have you got?
Layne Staley has given the world some of the best songs, such as Nutshell in 1994, Rotten Apple, and I Stay Away in the same year, followed by Sludge Factory, River of Deceit, and Again in 1995. In 1995 only, he also released Long Gone Day, and I Don’t Know Anything.
How Did Layne Staley Die?
Layne Staley was a singer and vocalist in Alice in Chains. He originally died on April 5, 2002, but he was not reported as dead before April 19. 2 weeks after April 5, Layne Staley’s accountant contacted the singer’s former manager, Susan, to inform him that there’s been no transaction done in Layne’s account in the past 2 weeks which they found weird.
After hearing the same from Susan, the singer’s mother, Nancy McCallum, immediately called for help as she also didn’t have heard from him in like 2 weeks. Forces reached Staley’s home along with his mother to his home. Upon entering, they are met with a non-living Layne Staley. When his body was found, he was already dead and weighed 39 kg.
Layne Staley’s body was not easily identified, it was partially decomposed, and they had to use his dental records to identify him. McCallum revealed that she wasn’t surprised when his son didn’t pick up her call. 2 days before his body was discovered, she had visited him to inform him about Demri Parrott’s brother’s death. No one answered her knocks, but when his usually silent cat made a sound that caught her attention.
Autopsy and toxicology were done to know the reason behind his death. After the reports came out, it was found that a speedball was in his body at the time he died. Speedball is a mixture of heroin and cocaine. After his death, his band members gave a statement.
In the statement, they said that it is good to be with friends and family as they struggle to deal with this immense loss and to try to celebrate the immense life. They are looking for all the usual things, comfort, purpose, answers, something to hold on to, a way to let him go in peace.
They said that they were feeling heartbroken over the death of their beautiful friend, who was a sweet man with s keen sense of humor and a deep sense of humanity. Former band Alice in Chains members said that Layne Staley was an amazing musician, an inspiration, and a confidant for so many who had made great music and gifted it to the world.
Alice in Chains members is proud to have known him, to be his friend, and also to create music with him. Layne had struggled greatly for a decade before his death, and they all hoped that he had, at last, found some peace. They ended the statement by saying that they loved him dearly and would miss him endlessly.