Chester Bennington: Linkin Park vocalist ‘took his own life’

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington has died aged 41, LA County Coroner says.

The coroner said Bennington apparently hanged himself. His body was found at a private home in the county at 09:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Thursday.

Bennington was said to be close to Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, who took his own life in May.

Formed in 1996, Linkin Park have sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.

The band had a string of hits including Faint, In The End and Crawling, and collaborated with the rapper Jay-Z.

The album Meteora topped the Billboard 200 chart in 2003 and is regarded as one of the biggest indie rock records of all time.

The band had been due to begin a tour next week.

He leaves a wife, and six children from two marriages.

The singer is said to have struggled for years with alcohol and drug abuse, and has talked in the past about contemplating suicide as a result of being a victim of abuse as a child.

Bennington wrote an open letter to Chris Cornell on the latter’s death, saying: “You have inspired me in ways you could never have known… I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”

Cornell would have celebrated his 53rd birthday on Thursday. He hanged himself after a concert in Detroit on 17 May.

Band member Mike Shinoda confirmed the news of Bennington’s death on Twitter: “Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.”

Tributes to Bennington flooded in soon after news of his death.

The band Imagine Dragons tweeted: “no words, so heartbroken. RIP Chester Bennington.”

Grime artist Stormzy, who collaborated with Linkin Park earlier this year, tweeted: “Bruv I can’t lie I’m so upset serious.” BBC News