Chris Cornell Wife Vicky Karayiannis’ Mother Speaks On Singer’s Death, ‘We Will Search For Truth’

As his family prepares for his funeral on Friday, Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell’s mother-in-law has taken to social media to express her sorrow over his death.

Cornell was found dead in the bathroom of his hotel room at the MGM Grand in Detroit just hours after finishing a concert with his band, and the death was later ruled a suicide. His family has contested the finding, and now, his mother-in-law, Toni Karayiannis, is backing up that belief through tweets on social media.

After the ruling was made public, Karayiannis took to Twitter to share her heartbreak that Cornell died, but also revealed that she and the rest of the family would find out the real truth behind his death soon, saying that they all knew he didn’t intentionally leave them all behind.

She also took to social media again afterwards to retweet several fans who also shared the sentiment that he hadn’t intentionally committed suicide, before replying to two specific tweets in general, where she thanks the fans for their love and support, and revealed that it was especially heartbreaking for her to lose him because he felt like an actual son to her.

Sure enough, Cornell showed how close he was to his mother-in-law in a tweet to her on Mother’s Day, just a few days before he died.

Read: What Were Chris Cornell’s Final Words To Wife Vicky Karayiannis?

“Happy Mother’s Day to my mom @ToniKaras you thank for giving me the love of my life,” he wrote.

Cornell’s family has been a big part of the story surrounding his sudden death, specifically his wife, Vicky, who confirmed she spoke with him on the phone shortly before he was discovered. After feeling that something wasn’t right based on how he sounded, she asked a member of the security team to check on her husband, which was when his body was found.

“…When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him,” she said in a statement after his death. “What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details. I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them intentionally by taking his own life.”

A police report that was released following Cornell’s death revealed details about how he was found, confirming he did commit suicide by hanging himself from the top of his hotel bathroom door. However, though the initial autopsy officially determined his cause of death to be suicide, his family has maintained that his taking his own life was a decision he made while suffering from the adverse effects of Ativan, which he took for anxiety, or potentially other substances.

“Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris—or if any substances contributed to his demise. Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages,” the family lawyer said in a statement. “The family believes that if Chris took his own life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions.”

Read: Vicky Karayiannis Breaks Her Silence On Chris Cornell’s Suicide

Ativan is a drug that is primarily prescribed for treatment of seizure disorders like epilepsy, though it can be prescribed for anxiety as well. Side effects however can include drowsiness, confusion, and depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. It is also known to cause dependency in individuals with histories of alcoholism or drug abuse.

While the results of a more thorough autopsy have not yet been released to determine if the Ativan and other substances contributed to his death, Cornell’s family is moving on with plans for a memorial and burial later this week. According to CNN, his funeral will be held in Los Angeles on Friday, May 26, and he will be buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.