The Edge

Layne Thomas
Staley, Alice In Chains Singer
R.I.P.
August 22, 1967- April 5, 2002
Layne Thomas Staley (August 22, 1967 - ca. April 5, 2002) was the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains and the supergroups Class of '99 and Mad Season. He struggled throughout his career as a musician with severe drug addiction, which eventually led to his death in April 2002. Layne Staley was found dead in his Seattle home at the age of 34.
On April 19, 2002, an unidentified person placed a call with 911 to say "She hadn't heard from…[Staley] in about two weeks." Staley was found dead in his home after "his mother and stepfather went to his condo with the police". As reported by Rick Anderson of the Seattle Weekly, his body was surrounded by various drug possessions and paraphernalia: "When police kicked in the door to Layne Staley's University District apartment on April 20, there, on a couch, lit by a flickering TV, next to several spray-paint cans on the floor, not far from a small stash of cocaine, near two crack pipes on the coffee table, reposed the remains of the rock musician." The article also stated that the 6'1 Staley weighed only 86 pounds when his body was discovered. He was only 34 years old. The autopsy report later concluded that Staley died after injecting an extremely large mixture of heroin and cocaine known as a "speedball".

The King County Coroner's Office estimated Staley to have died on April 5, 2002. By coincidence, the same Coroner's Office estimated Kurt Cobain to have died on the same day eight years prior.

Layne Thomas Staley Interview             Layne Thomas Staley Video
     

QUOTE:
"I know I'm near death. I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way ... Don't try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. They are not my friends." — Layne Staley