Chester Bennington’s ‘Cowardly’ Death Leaves 6 Kids Alone, Korn Guitarist Says

Updated Friday, July 21 at 10:23 p.m. EDT: Welch added additional Facebook updates after he had time to reflect. “I didn't mean to sound insensitive about Chester,” he wrote Thursday. “Just dealing with a range of emotions today. Love you Chester. I'm pissed that you did this, but I know this could have been me back in the day after getting wasted one night.”

The guitarist added the following day: “After the shock of yesterday, trying to focus on the positive memories today, like the time Chester made my daughter Jennea smile during Christmas.”

Original story:

While most people mourned the death of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington Thursday, Korn guitarist Brian Head Welch accused him of being a coward. The musician took to Facebook to express himself after reports of Bennington’s suspected suicide by hanging went viral.

“Honestly, Chester's an old friend who we've hung with many times, and I have friends who are extremely close to him, but this is truly pissing me off!” Welch wrote Thursday. “How can these guys send this message to their kids and fans?! I'm sick of this suicide shit! I've battled depression/mental illness, and I'm trying to be sympathetic, but it's hard when you're pissed! Enough is enough! Giving up on your kids, fans, and life is the cowardly way out!!!”

The post garnered more than 12,000 reactions, hundreds of comments and amassed 5,000 shares.

READ: Fans Hope Chester Bennington's Death Is A Hoax

Bennington was the father of six children. His first, son Jamie, was born May 12, 1996. He had him with former girlfriend Elka Brand. He then adopted her son, Isaiah, the Heavy wrote. The process was finalized in 2006.

The Linkin Park singer had his second son with first wife Samantha Marie Olit. After they got married in 1996, Draven Sebastian was born April 19, 2002. The couple split three years later.

Bennington didn’t wait long to remarry and wed Talinda Bentley in 2005. They welcomed three children: son Tyler Lee and twin daughters, Lily and Lila.

Bennington loved being a father. He regularly posted images of his children to social media and posted affectionate tweets about his six kids. “I have the cutest kids ever,” he wrote in a 2009 tweet. “God I love this cutie! My son more than life itself!” he wrote in a June post on Instagram.

He opened up about fatherhood during a 2016 interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal.

“Let me give you a typical day. I’m a recovering alcoholic, that’s the first thing. I have a big family. I’ve got three kids in college, one in high school, one in fifth grade and twin girls who are 5; they are in pre-K. I have two pigmy goats, three bantam chickens, a tortoise, six dogs, two cats, fish, so I have a farm,” he said.

Bennington was found by his housekeeper Thursday at 9 a.m. He apparently hanged himself in the bedroom of his Los Angeles home. He was supposed to go on tour with his band the week before his death.

READ: Chester Bennington Wife: Who Is Talinda Ann Bentley?

Linkin Park bandmate, Mike Shinoda, confirmed Bennington’s death to Twitter Thursday. “Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true,” he said. “An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.”

Linkin Park was known for their rock hits like “In The End” and “Crawling.” They won two Grammy Awards: one for for Best Hard Rock Performance and another for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Jay-Z. By 2017, they sold more than 50 million albums worldwide.

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