Queensryche aide dies at band member's home

BOTHELL - A technician for Queensryche died at the home of one of the band members after a week of partying that began at the Experience Music Project opening in Seattle.

Timothy Paul Saunders, 35, of Huntsville, Ala., died early June 29 in the front yard of Queensryche guitarist Kelly Gray's home in Bothell.

An autopsy was done, but the cause of death cannot be determined until toxicology tests are completed.

Bothell police have ruled out foul play and said Saunders' body had no signs of trauma. Witnesses said he had been partying for several days, said Bothell police spokesman Elmer Brown.

Saunders, a guitar technician for Queensryche, arrived in Seattle June 24 during the three-day grand opening of the EMP. He worked at the heavy-metal band's June 25 show.

Gray said yesterday that Saunders had been out drinking. He said he'd picked Saunders up at a convenience store in Bothell and when they reached Gray's home, Saunders lay down in the front yard and refused to get up.

Gray said he couldn't carry the larger man into the house, so he gave him a blanket and a pillow. Gray said he and his wife checked on Saunders several times before they found he wasn't breathing.

"We tried everything we could," Gray said, including CPR. He said Saunders died before medics arrived.

From her home in Huntsville, Ala., Agatha Saunders said she knew her son had a history of heavy drinking, but he had spent the last three months without any problems.