'Sorry you were alone', writes Cornell widow

Ahead of his funeral in Los Angeles on Friday, Vicky Cornell said she was “sorry” that she “did not see what happened to you that night”.

The US singer was found dead in a bathroom on 18 May just hours after a Soundgarden concert in the city.

The 52-year-old star hanged himself, according to the Wayne County medical examiner’s office.

His widow wrote: “I’m sorry you were alone, and I know that was not you, my sweet Christopher. Your children know that too, so you can rest in peace.”

She said she was “broken” but vowed to “stand up” for her late husband and take care of their children.

Mrs Cornell went on: “I will think of you every minute of every day and I will fight for you.”

Although the medical examiner ruled the singer’s cause of death to be suicide by hanging, Mrs Cornell last week suggested anti-anxiety drugs may have played a part.

She revealed her husband, a recovering addict, was taking the prescription drug Ativan, which treats anxiety and insomnia but whose side effects include increased depression and impaired judgement.

She said: “I know that he loved our children, and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life.”

The singer’s funeral is set to take place in a private service at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Mrs Cornell married the star in 2005 and the couple had two children together, daughter Toni and son Christopher Nicholas, while Chris had a child from another relationship.

Grammy Award-winning Cornell, who formed Soundgarden in 1984, was one of the leading voices of the 1990s grunge movement originating in Seattle.

As well as also fronting Audioslave, he performed the theme song for the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale.

Here is his widow’s letter in full:

To My Sweet Christopher,

You were the best father, husband and son-in-law. Your patience, empathy and love always showed through.

You had always said I saved you, that you wouldn’t be alive if it were not for me. My heart gleamed to see you happy, living and motivated. Excited for life. Doing everything you could to give back. We had the time of our lives in the last decade and I’m sorry, my sweet love, that I did not see what happened to you that night. I’m sorry you were alone, and I know that was not you, my sweet Christopher. Your children know that too, so you can rest in peace.

I’m broken, but I will stand up for you and I will take care of our beautiful babies. I will think of you every minute of every day and I will fight for you. You were right when you said we are soulmates. It has been said that paths that have crossed will cross again, and I know that you will come find me, and I will be here waiting.

I love you more than anyone has ever loved anyone in the history of loving and more than anyone ever will.

Always and forever,
Your Vicky