‘The Voice’ contestant Anthony Riley dead of suicide at 28

*A recent contestant on NBC’s “The Voice,” Anthony Riley,” is now dead at the age of 28.
Riley passed away on Tuesday according to close friends of the singer who found his body in the basement of a Philadelphia apartment on Friday.
According to Philly.com, Riley’s death was a suicide was later corroborated by close friend Robert Parsons, who, like Riley, was also a busker – or street performer – in Philadelphia.
“Anthony passed away Tuesday. He wasn’t found until [Friday],” Parsons told Yahoo Music. “His sister called me at 7:30 yesterday to tell me, ‘I called the friend he’d been living with, Bobby Iovine, and Bobby was in tears. And he said, ‘Robby, it’s true.’”
Parsons added: “Anthony was a gentle soul. Just a loving, caring, gentle person, is what he was.” Parsons later corroborated reports that Riley took his own life.
Citing “personal reasons” back in January, Riley abruptly left Season 8 of the “The Voice” and entered into a Hanover, Pennsylvania, rehab facility. He was reportedly working on an album in the wake of his departure from the show and had been coached by artist and producer Pharrell Williams.
When Riley spoke with Philly.com back in March, he  discussed his ongoing addiction problems. And because of the grueling schedule that goes with being on “The Voice,” he hinted the program just wasn’t working for him and had become a responsibility too stressful to manage.