Updates on the Death of Chester Bennington

Details continue to trickle in about the death of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. He was found at his home in LA yesterday, hanging from a door that separated his bedroom from his closet. He’d used a belt. (Note that his friend Chris Cornell hanged himself in the same way but with an exercise band.)  There was a half-full bottle of alcohol in the room but no drugs were found. There was no suicide note.

Here’s a round-up of the latest.

1. This is from his final interview with Billboard magazine:

On getting older, as a rock musician:

“I think that if you focus on something like that, it becomes a problem. But we don’t really think about that. What helps us stay relevant is that we haven’t really set out on this musical experience to reach a destination. We consider the whole thing a journey. So it’s not like we stopped off at Rock Island and now we’re stranded there. We actually just get onboard the boat and let the winds take us where it will. And each time it’s at a new place, and we land at a new destination. And I think that because we’re fearless about what kind of sounds and songs we create, we’re able to be more malleable to people’s tastes and what people’s interests are.”

2. The organist at last night’s Dodger’s game played this.

Heard it right after bp! ???????? pic.twitter.com/KPgpW6GP1d

— Rg9 Photography (@rg9photography) July 21, 2017

3. The New York Times has this report.

4. Here’s an audio tribute to Chester.

5. The Mirror has this story about Chester’s wife, Talinda Bentley: “The woman who tried to save him – their whirlwind love story”

He leaves behind a loving family – and credited his second wife Talina Ann Bentley with rescuing him from the brink and saying their life together made him strong in way he never thought possible.

Their whirlwind romance began in 2004 after they were introduced by a shared friend, musician, Ryan Shuck, and began dating in December – ten days later they had moved in together.

Talina, who found success as a model after appearing in the College Girls section of Playboy magazine, went on to have three children together, Tyler Lee, 11, and six-year-old twins Lila and Lilly.

Chester married Bentley shortly after divorcing his first wife, Samantha Marie Olit.

In a 2009 interview Chester revealed his second wife should be credited with helping him battle his depression.

“My divorce was one of the worst and best things to ever happen to me in my life. Everything I had worked so hard for was gone after we were through. Everything! I was wiped out and it was tough on my ego to let go of all of that. I went from living in a huge house to a tiny apartment in Santa Monica. I was so drained and bitter during that time.

“But I eventually learned from it and moved on,” he added, “I then fell in love again and I got help facing my demons… When I met Talinda, I knew she was the one pretty instantly. She moved into my place after a week and a half or something like that.”

6. Mike Shinoda recalls Chester’s state of mind following Chris Cornell’s death:

On May 18 – the day of Chris Cornell’s death – the band were due to record a live performance of their single ‘Heavy’ for Jimmy Kimmel Live. But on hearing the news about Cornell, the band decided instead to play ‘One More Light’ – because, Shinoda said, “it’s about the loss of a friend.”

The following day (May 19), during his interview with Radio.com, Shinoda discussed Bennington’s struggle to complete the performance of the song.

“When we were doing a soundcheck,” he said, “Chester couldn’t even make it through the song. He was getting halfway through and getting choked up and even when we did play the whole song and it was live on TV – or filmed for TV – he kinda just stopped before the end. He missed the last couple lines of it – he just couldn’t finish the song.

“Fans were crying in the audience, and I think it was cathartic – it was good. Because the message of the song is: when you’re dealing with something so deep as losing a friend or in this case even just somebody you admire, one of the things you can do is to reach out to people and offer them community. Let them know we’re a family, we’re a community, we care about each other. Whether it’s a friend who’s lost somebody or a family member or whatever: to reach out and let them know even that you’re thinking about them – sometimes that’s enough.”

More here.

7. Linkin Park had just filmed a round of Carpool Karaoke before Chester’s death.

8. Here’s another report from Billboard, this time on “The Words, Sound and Legacy of Chester Bennington.”

9. “Chester Bennington Taught His Fans How to Grieve”

10. Linkin Park has canceled their current tour. No surprise there.

11. Totally needless bullshit conspiracy theory. “Chester Bennington was About to Expose the Truth Behind Chris Cornell’s Death.”