Did Spider Bite Kill Slayer Guitarist?

Jeff Hanneman died of liver failure yesterday at age 49
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 3, 2013 8:28 AM CDT
Did Spider Bite Kill Slayer Guitarist?
This 2009 publicity photo provided courtesy of Slayer shows, from left, Dave Lombardo, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman and Tom Araya.   (Mark Seliger)

Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of Slayer whose career was irrevocably changed after a spider bite, has died at age 49. Slayer spokeswoman Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald said Hanneman died yesterday morning of liver failure at a Los Angeles hospital with his wife, Kathy, by his side. The guitarist had recently begun writing songs with the band in anticipation of recording a new album later this year. He had been slowly recovering from what was believed to be a spider bite that nearly cost him his arm after he failed to seek immediate treatment. Robinson-Fitzgerald said it's believed the spider bite contributed to the failure of Hanneman's liver, but it is unclear whether an autopsy will be scheduled.

Hanneman co-founded the thrash metal pioneers in Huntington Beach, Calif., in 1982. "The music industry has lost a true trailblazer, and our deepest sympathies go out to his family, his bandmates, and fans around the world who mourn his untimely passing," said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, in a statement. "Jeff Hanneman will always be a metal god," rocker Andrew WK tweeted. (More Jeff Hanneman stories.)

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