Cory Monteith’s father Joe has spoken out about his son’s death, claiming he was not invited to Cory’s cremation ceremony Tuesday.
‘I always loved both my sons and am going to miss Cory very very much,’ Monteith told TMZ, referring to Cory’s older brother Shaun. ‘I’m saddened at the fact that I couldn’t have been there to see my son before he was cremated.’
According to Dailymail, Cory, who died from a lethal combination of heroin and alcohol on Saturday at the age of 31, was cremated in Vancouver following a private viewing with his family as well as girlfriend Lea Michele.
The military man said he was informed about the ceremony only after the fact, and was ‘totally devastated’ that he didn’t have the chance to see his son’s body.
Following the autopsy Tuesday, Cory’s body was released to his mother Ann McGregor, who chose to hold a viewing with Lea and his brother Shaun.
After the viewing, Ann decided to have Cory cremated, reports TMZ.
Joe divorced Cory’s mother when the star was seven years old.
Ann brought up her sons in Victoria, British Columbia, and Cory saw little of his father after the divorce due to Joe’s military service.
In 2009, Cory reunited with his father for the first time in 17 years.
In an interview with Parade two years ago, Cory said: ‘We’d spoken maybe three or four times [during that period] and he reached out to me on Facebook. I couldn’t shut the door, so I got on a plane.
‘He greeted me at the airport, and (he and stepmother Yvette) were so happy they were almost crying. It was a good time.’
The Glee actor, who was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room just after noon on Saturday, died from a ‘mixed drug toxicity, involving heroin and alcohol,’ authorities revealed on Tuesday.
The British Columbia Coroners Service revealed the autopsy results on Tuesday, adding that the investigation into his death is continuing, and that no further details were available at this time.
It was noted that at this stage there is still no evidence to suggest that Mr. Monteith’s death was ‘anything other than a most-tragic accident’.
Police Constable Brian Montague said: ‘There was evidence in the room that was consistent of a drug overdose,’ said Constable Brian Montague, adding that he wouldn’t ‘go into specifics’.
The cause of death has come as a shock to some after it was initially reported that police did not believe drugs to have been involved, but Montague explained they need to err on the side of caution.
‘It was the opinion of the investigators that it was a drug overdose, but we didn’t want to speculate,’ he said. ‘The last thing we would want to do is speculate a drug overdose and then have that not be the case.’
Cory’s girlfriend Lea Michele released a statement through her rep on Monday afternoon, claiming she is ‘grieving alongside’ Monteith’s family.
‘Lea is deeply grateful for all the love and support she’s received from family, friends, and fans. Since Cory’s passing, Lea has been grieving alongside his family and making appropriate arrangements with them,’ the 26-year-old Glee actress’ rep told People.
‘They are supporting each other as they endure this profound loss together. We continue to ask the media to respect the privacy of Lea and Cory’s family,’ the rep added.
Dianna Agron also released a statement about her Glee costar’s death.
‘I have never lost a friend. In this difficult time, I am leaning on all of the wonderful memories we shared with Cory, how many ways he was able to make us smile,’ the 27-year-old actress told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘Glee was a gift to all of us. It gave us a family in this industry.
‘We really cut our teeth and grew up on this show. In playing underdogs, we learned that we had dug into the hearts of our viewers and that we could stay there,’ she said.
‘Cory is so deserving of that place in everyone’s hearts. He was one of the most generous and kind people that I have ever met. He had a smart, curious mind, he was an enormous talent. He was loving to not only me, but my family,’ Dianna continued.
‘My heart goes out to his family, to Lea, to everyone that is struggling with the loss of our friend,’ she said. ‘We will miss you Cory. We will always carry a piece of you with us.’
Police expedited Cory’s autopsy and toxicology report Monday due to the widespread publicity of his sudden death.
A medical team from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority performed the postmortem exam.
‘Mr. Monteith was alone [in his hotel room] when he died,’ a Vancouver Police Department spokesperson said. ‘He took the heroin when he was alone by himself.’
It is still unclear what happened to Cory in the hours leading up to his death.
He and his manager dined on Thursday night with Maureen Webb, the co-founder of Project Limelight Society, who said the actor ‘looked so good, so healthy’.
According to authorities, Cory and three unidentified people left his hotel room on Friday night and that the actor returned alone at around 2:15 a.m. Hotel staff found his body shortly after noon when Cory didn’t check out.
The three individuals were questioned and the Police Department representative said, ‘They were all cooperative,’ adding that no arrests were made.
Meanwhile, FOX officials said it is too soon to say how Cory’s death will be handled on Glee.
According to FOX news, producers are scheduling meetings to discuss how to move forward without his character, Finn Hudson.
Industry experts predict Cory’s death will have a serious effect on the hit show, which was scheduled to start shooting next month.