Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice In Chains, was sadly, a serious drug addict, heroin and cocaine. When his body was discovered in 2002, he had already been dead 2 weeks, his body already partially decomposed.. A coroner's report estimated Layne died today, April 5th, in his Seattle apartment, alone, of an OD of heroin & cocaine. Layne was 34 years old.