Chris Cornell Death: What We Know One Year After Soundgarden Singer's Demise

It's been one year since grunge rock icon Chris Cornell was discovered dead in his hotel room after a concert in Detroit after hanging himself, and though an entire 365 days have come and gone, some, like his wife, Vicky Karayiannis-Cornell, are still left with questions about what led to his early demise at the age of 52.

Cornell was found in his hotel room's bathroom at the Detroit MGM Grand hotel after a show with an exercise band around his neck. His death was officially ruled as a suicide, though his wife and family strongly objected to that ruling, saying that he wouldn't have intentionally taken his own life if it hadn't been for the influence of drugs.

Karayiannis has continued to stress that she feels the medical examiner conducted a "botched investigation" into her husband's, a former addict, death, telling The Detroit News recently that the holes in the investigation have led to numerous online conspiracy theories and personal attacks against her in the time since.

"This has left me and my family still looking for answers, but at the same time, set off this whirlwind of conspiracies," she said. "Some of the people are just fans looking for answers, but some of them are conspiracy theorists who have said the most vile things to my children and me."

One of her biggest issues with the autopsy report was that it was stated drugs didn't contribute to Cornell's cause of death, but she says that it is "completely misleading," and has spawned speculation that he was killed. In addition, she herself has come under fire with others expressing theories she had him killed as well.

"The poor choice of phrasing has misled the public to believing he was of sound mind and body. So some conspiracy people think if Chris wasn't impaired, he would never have killed himself, and so he must have been killed--and then they start getting into the rest of the holes."

Among the drugs that were confirmed to have been in Cornel's system at the time, though they were not ruled as having contributed to his death, were Naloxone (Narcan), Butalbital (a sedative), Lorazepam (Ativan), Pseudoephedrine (decongestant) and barbiturates. A bottle of Prednisone was also found in Cornell's bathroom the night he died and is known for side effects which can include extreme changes in mood, confusion, depression, and loss of contact with reality. However, while Cornell allegedly kept it on hand for emergencies, in case he got laryngitis and was unable to sing, his wife says that he was never tested for it, which she believes is one of the inconsistencies.

"But the medical examiner never tested for it," she said. "When you find a drug that causes mania at the scene, how do you not test for it?"

Regardless of the questions she still has about her husband's death, it isn't stopping Karayiannis from honoring her husband's legacy on the anniversary of his death—not will she keep his fans away from any celebration either.

In a post on Twitter earlier this week, Karayiannis revealed that a public vigil will be held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery at 7 p.m. on May 18 to mark the anniversary and remember him together.

"We want to open this up to you, our extended family, and invite you to join us on this day of prayer and remembrance to pay our respects together," she shared. "As we know there are millions of fans and not everyone can physically be here, we would be honored if you share posts and videos of how Chris's music has touched you, We can feel your love no matter how far."