Fake news! Bogus article claiming Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington's death is being investigated as a murder goes viral

  • Bogus online article claimed police are investigating Chester Bennington's death as murder
  • The article was shared more than 780,000 times by Sunday afternoon
  • The story included a fake quote from a LAPD source
  • Coroner had already said Bennington's death was suicide on Friday
  • Benington was found hanging  from a bedroom door at his home
  • Bennington died at 41 and leaves behind his wife and six children

An unsubstantiated online article claiming that Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington's death is being investigated by police as a possible murder has been shared nearly 800,000 times.

The article, posted on yournewswire.com on Friday, claimed an anonymous source with the Los Angeles Police Department said authorities were investigating the matter as a possible homicide. 

'Detectives are looking into whether Chester Bennington was murdered, with the death scene later arranged to resemble a suicide,' the article reads. 

A bogus online article claimed that Chester Bennington's suicide on Thursday is now being investigated as a murder by LAPD (pictured Chester Bennington 7/22/2015)

A bogus online article claimed that Chester Bennington's suicide on Thursday is now being investigated as a murder by LAPD (pictured Chester Bennington 7/22/2015)

The fake online article was shared over 780,000 times by Sunday afternoon ( pictured Bennington 6/17/2017)

The fake online article was shared over 780,000 times by Sunday afternoon ( pictured Bennington 6/17/2017)

'They have put a team of investigators in place and are refusing to rule out a criminal homicide charge,' it adds.  

The article also uses a quote from a 'police source' stating: 'Murders are sometimes made to look like suicides... We think he was murdered, we just have to find out who was behind it.' 

The Los Angeles County coroner's office had publicly confirmed already that authorities were treating the matter as a suicide in a statement released Friday, according to The Mirror. 

The coroner added that Bennington had been found hanged from a bedroom door at his Palos Verdes Estates at about 9am on Thursday. 

The article was shared more than 780,000 by Sunday afternoon, apparently inspired by conspiracy theories from fans who also questioned the apparent suicide of Bennington's close friend, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. 

Cornell committed suicide on May 17 after hanging himself with an exercise resistance band in his hotel bathroom. 

The author of the article, Baxter Dimitry, maintains that his reporting is accurate.   

A search for Baxter Dimitry produced this picture on his social media accounts including Facebook and Twitter along with numerous articles from 'your news wire' website

A search for Baxter Dimitry produced this picture on his social media accounts including Facebook and Twitter along with numerous articles from 'your news wire' website

Dimitry contributes to a much-derided publication and wrote the Bennington murder investigation piece  (pictured: The backdrop to Baxter Dimitry's Facebook page)

Dimitry contributes to a much-derided publication and wrote the Bennington murder investigation piece  (pictured: The backdrop to Baxter Dimitry's Facebook page)

In a response to an inquiry by DailyMail.com, Baxter said in a statement that 'as far as I'm aware, the article has not been confirmed by the coroner to be untrue.'

'The coroner confirmed that the deceased was Chester Benington and that he died by hanging, as I mentioned in the article.'

'As for the more eye-catching claims in the article,' Baxter continues, 'they were made by a member of the police force here in LA, as I also made clear in the article.'

'Family and friends of Benington are also expressing the belief that he did not commit suicide and the coroner's verdict was premature,' he adds.

The DailyMail.com was not able to substantiate the claim that 'family and friends of Bennington' have made public comments doubting the coroner's report.  

Dimitry presents himself on social media as a writer for the much-derided fake news site 'your news wire' which specializes in touting numerous conspiracy theories and far-fetched unfounded claims. 

Bennington died at 41 and leaves behind his wife, Talinda Bentley (pictured), along with six children

Bennington died at 41 and leaves behind his wife, Talinda Bentley (pictured), along with six children

Headlines for his work include: 'Pedophile Police Given Secret Honors And Promotion,' and 'Gut Bacteria More Effective At Curing ADHD Than Big Pharma’s Pills.'

The website, yournewswire.com, is not a news outlet nor affiliated with any news publication in the USA. 

Dimitry nevertheless describes him self as a 'journalist' on his Facebook page.

Bennington died at 41 and leaves behind his wife, Talinda Bentley, along with six children.  

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