Jeff Hanneman - cause of death revealed
Bandmates state the guitarist died of liver failure.
"We've just learned that the official cause of Jeff's death was alcohol-related cirrhosis" said a statement released by the band, adding that no-one was aware of the severity of his condition until the last days of his life. Before this, Jeff had shown signs of improvement, and had been looking forward to working on a new album.
Hanneman died at the age of 49, having already taken time away from the band since 2011 after becoming ill following a spider bite.
"I had so many great times with Jeff" said Kerry King. "In the early days when we were out on the road, he and I were the night owls, we would stay up all night on the bus, just hanging out, talking, watching movies...World War II movies, horror movies, we watched 'Full Metal Jacket' so many times, we could practically recite all of the dialogue."
(Billboard)