In Avicii's death, suicide details emerg

May. 1, 2018, 9:49 a.m.

By Christie D'Zurilla

In Avicii's death, suicide details emerge

Avicii was saluted by DJ Black Coffee, left, during the latter's set at Coachella on April 20. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Avicii, the Swedish disc jockey and producer who died last month, took his own life, as his parents had alluded to in a letter they released about his death.

The DJ, born Tim Bergling, killed himself with a shard of broken glass from a bottle, according to sources privy to details about his death who spoke with TMZ. They disagreed about how the glass had been used, but said there had been massive bleeding.

“He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness,” his parents said in a statement released a week after Avicii died. “He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace.”

Avicii had a history of pancreatitis partly brought on by heavy drinking and had his appendix and gallbladder removed in 2012 before he released his debut LP.

“Tim was such a humble, kind and beautiful soul. As a dance music icon, he touched the lives of millions around the world, and broke down barriers between genres like dance music and country," Pasquale Rotella, the founder of Electric Daisy Carnival, told The Times in a statement upon his death. "He helped our culture make an impact on the mainstream that will never be forgotten."

Avicii regularly headlined Electric Daisy Carnival and other EDM dance festivals before he quit performing in 2016, and had hits with crossover songs including “Wake Me Up” and “Hey Brother.” He was among the highest-paid DJs in the world.

"There's so much inspiration to be found from older music — I'm always trying to write in Motown's style, but updated," he told The Times in 2012. "Soul and bluesy styles and samples work so well in house music. I want to combine the styles of today with the best of what's been done."

Avicii’s body was found in Muscat, Oman, on April 20. He was 28.