What We Know About Cory Monteith’s Final Days
By Elizabeth Durand
Fans and friends are still reeling from the news of Cory Monteith's shocking death — and, no doubt, many are wondering how this could happen.
True, the "Glee" star had recently done a stint in rehab, but he had checked in voluntarily and seemed to be doing well since getting out. In fact, combing over the final days leading up to the 31-year-old actor's death seems to bring more questions than answers.
Though an autopsy is being performed today, it might be a while before the results are released. In the meantime, here's everything we know about who Monteith saw, what he did, and how he seemed, right before he passed away just a few miles from his family's home.
June 8: Things seemed to be looking up for Monteith, who made his first post-rehab red-carpet appearance alongside his co-star and longtime love, Lea Michele, at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles. With their arms around each other, the couple looks happier than ever. This would be their last public appearance together.
June 18: Lea Michele tweeted a candid snapshot of herself sandwiched between a smiling Monteith and their co-star Jonathan Groff with the caption, "Me and my two favorite boys."
Early July: Though Lea and Cory had not been photographed together since June 18, they seemed be going strong. Lea was still sporting her "Cory" nameplate necklace when she attended the Beyoncé concert on July 1, and when she posted some selfies on July 11. A rep for Lea confirms that that the pair were still an item when Cory passed away.
July 6: On the same day that he checked into to Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel, Monteith visited The Shop, a local coffee house and clothing store for motorcycle aficionados, where he reportedly expressed interest in the bikes and even sat on the owner's personal ride.
While there are rumors that Cory tossed back a few cold ones, no photos show him actually drinking. However, it's probably worth noting that his female friend (who happens to be somewhat of a Lea Michele lookalike) is clearly holding two beers.
July 11: Only two days before he was found dead, the star enjoyed a laugh-filled dinner at East of Main with his manager, Elena Kirschner, and one of his earliest mentors, Maureen Webb, the co-founder of the Project Limelight Society. "We ate a lot of food," Webb recounted to People, noting that no one drank any alcohol. "We drank the rhubarb lemonade."
Webb, who probably knew Cory better than anyone, also thought the star seemed to be doing great. "He looked so good, so healthy … I hadn't seen him look that good in a long time," she explained.
According to Webb, it was Monteith who initiated the dinner, saying he wanted to get more involved in her non-profit arts program for children that he had been involved with since its launch in 2011. When she told him of the progress they had been making, "his face just lit up," she recalled.
July 12, Day: It seemed to be business as usual for Monteith on his final afternoon. At 1:24 p.m., the star took to Twitter to ask, "what the crap is Sharknado." One minute later, at 1:25, he seemed to have found the answer, tweeting, "oh. IT'S A SHARK TORNADO." His tweets refer to the Syfy original movie "Sharknado," which stars Tara Reid and Ian Ziering, and is, indeed, about a shark-tornado. These would be the last tweets Monteith would ever post.
July 12, Night: The evening before his death, Monteith had several people over to his room, but he apparently went out at some point during the night — and returned alone. Hotel surveillance video shows him returning to his room in the early morning hours by himself, and authorities believe he was alone when he died.
July 13: Adam Shankman, who served as a director on "Glee," spoke with Monteith on Saturday morning — a mere hours before the star died. Shankman told CNN that during their chat, Monteith said he was doing great and wanted to come down to California to Jet Ski.
Shankman described Monteith as the "glue" of "Glee," noting that he "was the first to laugh when things were muddy" and that "he showed up every day and he was a delight." For his part, the director admits that he is "devastated and confused" by this turn of events, and stressed that he does not believe there is necessarily a connection between the star's drug use and his death.
The autopsy should provide answers to some of these questions. Regardless of what happened with his body, however, the world may never truly know what was truly going on in the mind of this young star who had his entire life ahead of him.
