S. Samuel
The wife of late music mogul Chris Lighty has turned down speculation and reports which claim a fight fueled his decision to kill himself last week.
According to reports, Veronica Lighty believes financial struggles may have put Chris in a dark place.
Money, not love, may have provoked the suicide of hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on Thursday. Lighty, 44, who made millions for artists such as 50 Cent and Mariah Carey, was found dead at his Bronx home after fighting with his estranged wife, sources said this week. But his distraught wife, Veronica, 36, is disputing the idea the she fought with Lighty before he took his life.. “He was in a lot of pain and he possibly had some financial difficulties,” said Norman Downes, a friend who spoke on behalf of Veronica Lighty, who was too upset to speak Friday. “But they didn’t get into a fight that day,” Downes insisted. (New York Daily News)
Lighty’s business associate Michael “Blue” Williams said money likely did not ignite the suicide.
“Chris’ debt is probably less important than the pressure that he was under,” Williams told MTV News on Friday (August 31). “What people are missing and what people don’t see and what Chris is an example of is how much, as black men, we carry around and don’t always communicate.” “Some people will hear you’re in $2 million of debt and be like, ‘Aww he could’ve got out of that,’ ” Williams said anecdotally. “Other people will be like, ‘He’s been in debt before and then dug himself out,’ because managers get in debt sometimes and you got to dig yourself out when your artist gets hot.” (MTV)
His brother, Dave Lighty, could not comprehend how Chris could have gone through with a reported suicide.
“I’m surprised, shocked, and lost at this moment. I want the truth to come out. This isn’t my brother. My brother was a strong person, is a strong person. Nothing is adding up. I can’t get a direct answer from anybody…I understand there’s a process to be followed. I can’t even get clear answers from people I think I should be getting clear answers from… I just want to know what really happened to my brother. If he did take his own life, all right, I just wish he could have reached out and spoken to us. We were all here for him. I just want the truth. The truth.” (Fox 5 News)
Reports of the Violator founder’s death shocked the Internet Thursday (August 30) afternoon.
According to law enforcement, 44-year-old Lighty’s body was found by police around 11:30 AM in the backyard of his Bronx apartment. Lighty was pronounced dead on the scene, where a semi-automatic firearm was recovered. The death is being investigated as a possible suicide. According to sources close to Lighty, the hip hop mogul had been in an argument with his ex-wife and shot himself in the head. We’re told the couple got divorced last year and Lighty hadn’t been the same since. (TMZ)
