Postings here are the last known photographs or videos of a person. Also, the last picture taken by a person just before their death is acceptable. Pictures of people only please! You may additional context in comments.
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I miss him. What a sad and lonely way to die.
86 pounds when he was found. He was 6’1 :(
To be fair, he was found 2 weeks after his death in a decomposed state, which would attribute to the low weight.
True but every single person who saw him in the last few years before his death said he was a literal skeleton
Yea, that makes sense
I hate how long it took to find him
Fkin insane , it was like two weeks right? Noone really bothered checking on the guy with heavy drug addiction for that long
He cut so many people out of his life and those who were most concerned for his well-being. It wasn't that he was abandoned, he isolated himself.
No, his own family abandoned him. How come his mother didn't bother to check on him for 2 whole weeks? They all knew he was sick to death and didn't care...
Me too man. Loved them in my teenage years, then more or less forgot them for like 20 years. Heard Would on the radio the other day and I’ve gone heavily down the rabbit hole again, hence commenting on two year old posts. Layne was so talented, his voice is unmatched to this day
His final photo was actually taken a few months before he died and has never been released to the public.
How is it known there is a pic if it has never been seen?
His mother is keeping it private. It allegedly shows him holding his newborn nephew.
Because his mother has mentioned it in interviews
I bet he looks heartbreakingly terrible.
I was obsessed with AIC when he died. I skipped high school midday when I found he was gone. Got drunk and high just listening to those records on repeat. Of course I miss him, and Cornell
Superunknown permenatly lived in my shitty five disc CD changer in my car.
One of my top 3 all time albums. It's been on repeat since 1997 when I discovered it
It lived in my shitty cassette player in my Honda Civic
Superunknown isn't by alice in chains though
AIC is one of the rare bands from the grunge era that actually holds up really well today. Ive long since stopped listening to a lot of the music i used to back then, but AIC and Soundgarden were just timeless. AIC's unplugged album is the best unplugged album of all time, nothing comes close imho, still listen to it on the regular.
I was celebrating 420 with a bunch of my friends in my shitty efficiency apartment when we heard and spent the whole day smoking and playing all the AIC CDs on repeat in his honor. Such a gut punch, truly one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time.
Hearing that "Down in a hole" unplugged version is like hearing Layne singing in his own funeral. Great song, great album.
Honestly loved their unplugged more than the studio version. It just sounds so haunting and pure
Are you trying to say that Pearl Jam and Nirvana don’t hold up today? Because I honestly don’t think you’ll find a whole lot of people who will agree with you there, lol.
PJ and Nirvana are kind of like Metallica in that some people really dislike or even hate them with a passion and are very vocal about it, yet they remain some of the greatest and most loved acts in history.
Pearl Jam honestly isn't a grunge act to me, even though they came out of that era.
Nirvana, absolutely. I fucking loved Nirvana back then, would order import albums from overseas just to get one my hands on a track that wasnt released state-side, and they do not hold up today nearly as well imho.
I hear you brother, it was a sad day indeed
I’d do the same lol
And now Lanegan :'(
I remember just bawling in the shower when I heard he died. Aic got me through my teen years!
Layne and Chris are my top two musicians I respect that have passed.
You know you are a brilliant singer when frickin Jerry Cantrell is your backup.
What's so sad to me is his 'final photo' made public was actually taken two years prior to his death. To see how weak and frail he was two years prior breaks my heart imagining his final days.
The last photos of him are from 1998. He died in 2002 so four years. Except of course for the one his mom hasn’t released. The photo in the link below is the actual last photo of him taken at a Halloween party in October 1998. The photo posted by OP is from August 1998. http://www.feelnumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/layne_staley_last_photo_1998_jerry_cantrell_show_halloween.jpg
I was wondering about this, I know he was much worse than this when he died. So 2 more years. Rip
After not hearing from him for two weeks, her mother, along with the police, went to his apartment to check on him, and then found his body.
A man in a box
Damn
His accountants noticed there had been no withdrawals or other activity on his accounts so they contacted his family.
They knocked on the door and could hear his cat Meowing, sounding like it was in distress. They called the cops for a welfare check
The sad irony of the whole story is that he'd fallen off the grid in such a way that his giant bank account was the only thing connecting him to the "real world" in a sense that an alarm would be sounded that something wasn't right in his world. Had he not been rich, and had just stayed a regional-level working musician, his habits would've likely landed him in jail at some point, which might have gotten him clean. To compound irony here, in spite of his millions, he was often mistaken for a street person in his last few years. Filthy, toothless and smelling ripe. The descriptions of him from that time period are pretty uniform and incredibly heartbreaking.
Also, his habit wouldn’t have gotten so bad. His access to money bought him all the substances he wanted and at any time. Whereas normies are forced to detox when they can score!
U can go to jail for being an addict?? 🤔
drug possession.
Holy shit! That’s how he died? :(
Heroin finally got him. Weighed less than 100 lbs when he died.
Yeah, my friend was telling me he wouldnt leave his apartment and would really only talk to/interact with his dealer. Idk if its all true but its really sad regardless.
86 lbs according to Wikipedia…. He was 6’ tall.
Speedball if i recall. That was after mike starr left him which put staley in an even more distressed state. Its why mike felt so guilty for so long. He believed that it was his fault that layne died
Everyone says it was the H that finally got him, but honestly, I think it was the crack cocaine causing malnutrition and wasting away. I always wonder if he had eaten better, stayed off the coke/crack (he shot coke) he’d still be here.
Probably, he was so thin and weak that's why his body couldn't take the drugs anymore
There is one actual final photo of him holding his niece and that will never be made public according to family.
The moment during unplugged when Layne screwed up Junk Head..
"What's my motivation here?"
A single line that explains so very much about human expectations and disappointment. THAT is why I miss Layne everyday.
I loved that moment, too. As well as Jerry's response "You guys just get to hear more, that's all."
Although, it was Sludge Factory, not Junk Head.
Video
It was sludge factory, not junk head
Wait, Junkhead isn’t on unplugged?
it was sludge factory.
In case some of you haven't seen his documentary, here's the link:
https://youtu.be/kcCdC-AaXrg
Go check that out, it's a masterpiece imo.
Yea, that film is really well made 👏 It's sad to see how much he suffered
Guy on the right look like the lovechild of Tom Araya and Anthony Keidis.
Young Chris pontius
Lmao
20 years ago but it seems like yesterday 😩
A legend taken way before his time. RIP Layne, your music has helped me get through some dark times, and will continue to do so until I’m gone
Best 90’s and “grunge” band by a long shot. Staley had so much talent and it’s really sad how much of a challenge living was for him.
True, so sad 😭
Damn i was just looking this guy up last night. He was six feet tall but only 85lbs when he passed away.
God he looks so sad.
Drugs doing what drugs do.
Jesus Christ, is that him on the left?
I don't think I will ever be able to see his pictures without wanting to cry.
I love him man
If I had just seen the picture without the caption I wouldn't have known that was Layne Staley. I hope he's found peace.
Everyone, go watch Love Hate Love live at the Moore from 1990. No one can come close to his vocals.
The man had an instrument.
I hate to say it, but look at this man, I love layne and AIC but just read all about his last year's. Layne I believe with my whole heart wanted to have his life end. I believe he had a hope to somehow come back, as he didn't just kill himself as soon as he got depressed - he, however, cut off anyone at the endnwho wanted or mentioned the idea of him going for some professional help and he let his teeth go, he quit taking care of his health to where he allowed infections to go too far(as its a popular opinion, idk if it's confirmed that he caught gangrene and his hand or arm just died. He lost his strength so severely he had leg atrophy and let his 6 foot tall body drop down to less than 90 pounds. I think after 6 years of isolation, letting his health fail to a point of possibly no recovery, I think he truly had just sunk so low that he finally mustered up enough sadness in him that he saw his nephew be born and take up the family legacy and probably came to peace with knowing there was baby oscar to grow up and hopefully do life the right way, as it was said his spirits were lifted so high with the sight and opportunity of holding little Oscar, but I do believe once the holidays were over ans he left the family household and went back to his toxic condo, he was once again alone with his thoughts, nothing happy to take his mind off of his loneliness and the shame he felt for letting himself go down so far that he no longer looked or felt like the Layne he missed being, I believe he felt the time had come where he felt ashamed to have squandered the life he made for himself and could have really lived happily, I think he wanted to see Mike for his birthday to show that he loved him and I believe the next day or early morning he was probably in the same sad mood, he had apparently believed demri was there the night before(April 3) and having ended the time with Mike in an argument as well as a possible reminder that 8 years prior Kurt had taken his life, I think he probably was just overwhelmed with sadness, loneliness, and nostalgic of what he had before he had let himself go so far off the rails as well as a desire to no longer be without the woman he loved and a desire to no longer be so dependent on heroin and a desire to just be free of the mentality he had gotten so far into living with as a result of his loneliness and increased depression due to his never satiated drug habit. I believe Layne just couldn't take being the pain of knowing he had become such broken version of the man he once was and the shame of knowing his actions had brought him to this point I think it was all just too fucking much for one man to bear. Layne, even though he had been so weakened by his malnutrition, loss of weight and strength, numerous infections, he had still developed a tolerance to heroin in such a high quantity, he had been shooting that same heroinnthe day before dying when he spent it with Mike starr so he knew what he could take heroin wise, I love Layne and the beauty the man had within but I believe whole heartedly that he decided he had run his course and he filled that syringe with an immensely powerful dose of dope and wanted to feel one last blast of pleasure so he added some coke to make it a speedball and he sent himself to the place of eternal peace, and the fact that he had another fully filled syringe in his hand besides the empty one in his arm or leg (I've read in his arm as well as leg don't know which is true) but the fact that he had a second syringe filled after having shot the one inbhis body makes me truly believe it was his intention to end his life. Sorry for my long dragged out. I do not mean any disrespect to Layne his memory nor his family, his death honestly has really messed with my mind at points in life because I truly love the man ans his music and reading all about his passing just truly is so dark and leaves much mystery behind. Rest in peace Layne, we fucking love you so much
🖤🖤🖤
Best voice in all rock history💗
Junkies like to be alone. People stopped calling on me after awhile too. I didn't blame them. In fact I was relieved.
I miss Layne so much❣️
Man, I honestly just don't understand 😪 I know his love for demri. But she wouldn't have wanted that for layne. I mean, you cam get high as fuck all the time but you don't have to die. He had been using for so long and so much. He knew IMO how much was too much, especially considering he had another fully loaded syringe in his hand i think we know what was intended and it breaks my heart. He was a beautiful soul
There is a more tragic photo of him from a holloween party that really shows how gaunt he looked
No teef
He looks like a white Snoop in this picture. RIP...
always wondered if what finally killed him was in that bag.
Considering he live like 2 years past this you can stop wondering
Reduction is addictive, too.
Edit: downvotes? It’s an AIC lyric, for christ’s sake.