On Saturday (August 20th) morning, Matt Roberts – the original lead guitarist for 3 Door Down – was found dead in a hotel outside of Milwaukee at the age of 38.
Roberts, who served as 3 Doors Down’s guitarist from 1996 to 2012, left the band for health reasons. No cause of death has been released, however, his father, Darrell Roberts, stated that his son had issues with anxiety and prescription drugs.
“I know he had prescription drug addiction. He suffered greatly from anxiety,” Darrell told CNN. “This was his way of dealing with it.”
Over the weekend, Roberts had been rehearsing for a fundraising concert for veterans in a Wisconsin hotel, when police were called in about a man who was either passed out or asleep in the hallway. Emergency responders were unable to revive Roberts.
“I was wakened at 8:50 this morning by some detectives beating on my door,” Matt’s father Darrell Roberts told CNN. “It’s always scary as a parent, they were in suits and that’s when they told me. They asked me if Matt Roberts was your son, I said yes, and they said ‘we have bad news to tell you, Matt deceased last night.”
In a video posted on the West Bend Daily News’ Facebook page, Robert’s father took the stage that night to tell the crowd about his son’s passing and to dedicate the concert to him.
An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday.
