Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley had a tragic passing because of his drug addiction. This wasn’t an uncommon cause of death back in the day, but the way his passing was discovered was quite peculiar thanks to his cat.
Layne Staley Passed Away Because Of An Overdose
Alice in Chains singer struggled with substance addiction and depression throughout his whole life. His bandmates tried to keep him clean and enroll in several rehab programs, but Stanely failed to stay clean for a long time. This ultimately brought his ending.
Staley’s former fiancée Demri Lara Parrott passed away because of a drug overdose on October 29, 1996. This deeply affected the singer and made him fall into a deeper depression. His friends placed Staley on a 24-hour suicide watch as they were afraid of his mental health state. This couldn’t prevent his passing at the end of the day.
Layne Stanley’s passing was discovered by his former manager Susan Silver. She was informed that no money was withdrawn from the singer’s bank account in two weeks on April 19, 2002. This raised suspicions about Stanley’s health. Worried for the musician, Silver contacted his mother Nancy McCallum. It turns out McCallum also called 911 after not hearing from her son in two weeks.
The police went to Staley’s house only to find his body partially decomposed and weighed only 86 pounds. The autopsy and toxicology report on Staley’s body revealed that he passed away because of a mixture of heroin and cocaine, widely known as a speedball, two weeks before his body was found, on April 5, 2002.
Staley’s Death Was Discovered Thanks To His Cat
Years after Layne Staley’s passing, his mother revealed something strange. McCallum went to his son’s apartment two days before finding him passed away, but nobody was there. She was quite concerned for her son’s health. She then received a phone call from Staley’s former manager two days later to check on him. McCallum went back to the singer’s house only to find some mail by his door.
Nancy McCallum was desperate to know if her son was okay. She wandered around the house, and that’s when she heard Staley’s cat meowing. She says this is something the cat has never done before, and this made her realize something bad must’ve happened. McCallum then decided to call 911, and this led to the discovery of Layne Staley’s death at 34.
