“The Voice” contestant Anthony Riley’s death has been ruled a suicide by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, which confirmed that the musician hanged himself.
The frontrunner on the most recent season of NBC’s reality contest died Tuesday but his body was not discovered until Friday when a friend found him in the basement of his Philadelphia apartment building.
Riley, 28, had been a fixture in Philadelphia’s Center City, singing Motown and pop songs for tips outside several landmarks, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He had been working on an album after leaving “The Voice” but continued to struggle with addiction, his friends and family told the paper.
His sister, Halima Miley, said there will be a public memorial.
The street performer revealed to the Philadelphia Enquirer in an earlier interview that he told “Voice” producers about his ongoing addiction problems shortly after his successful Battle Round was taped in January. Producers then flew Riley back home, where he entered a rehab facility.
“At the time,
Watch video from his audition below.