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[modelartist-demri]

Demri Lara Parrott Murphy (February 22nd 1969 – October 29th 1996) was an American model, artist, and muse, and an amateur actress, girlfriend and later fiancée of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley.

Early years & Family

Demri was born in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the United States of America’s Pacific Northwest.

She was the daughter of Kathleen Ann Austin of Seattle and Dennis Wayne Dougherty of Bremerton (1950 – 2011). She had three younger brothers, Devin C. Remme (d. 2010) of Olympia, Derek J.P. Murphy (d. 2002), and David J.M. Murphy, both of Bremerton; and a younger half sister, Christa Dougherty of Bremerton. She was adopted by her stepfather, Stephen John Parrott.

She was of Native American (Cherokee), Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English, and Swiss-German descent. She was tiny (around 4'11", 150cm or 5’, 152 cm), dark-featured, with long dark hair and dark eyes.

Demri attended at a high school in Arlington, Washington, and dropped at her Junior year (Grade 11) when she was 16. She then went to the High school of Performing Arts in Jacksonville, Florida.

Demri was passionate about many things and excelled in art and theater. She was interested in philosophy and poetry, and loved to collect vintage clothes, make decoupage, write poetry and play in front of the camera. Demri was well known and had numerous friends that she touched with her charismatic and enchanting personality. Most of her friends described her as a very sweet and beautiful person, kind, peaceful and artistic.

Demri was bisexual, and she was a nudist.

Life with Layne Staley

She met musician Layne Staley of Alice in Chains at a store called “Saturdays” where she was working, in 1988. According to David de Sola’s book “Alice in Chains: The Untold Story”, it was love at first sight. They started dating around spring or summer that year.

She is thanked in the liner notes of “Facelift”, which was released on August 1990. She is not, as widely but wrongly believed, the woman on the cover of Alice in Chains’s album “Dirt”, released on September 29, 1992, that is model and actress Mariah O'Brien.

Layne Staley and Demri Parrott were, according to close friends and bandmates, described as perfect for each other and the term “soulmates” has been used more than once to define their relationship. They were engaged to marry on 1992. David de Sola writes in his biography of Alice in Chains: “They had chosen the place called Kiana Lodge on Bainbridge Island [Kitsap County, Washington] as the wedding venue.” Demri did pick out a dress, and Alice in Chains’ band member “Mike Starr said he was going to be best man at Layne and Demri’s wedding.”

Both Demri and Layne became drug addicts, hooked to heroin. In addition, Demri had a cardiac pacemaker in her heart. Demri also suffered endocarditis (an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium, that can be caused by a bacterial infection. Risk factors include intravenous drug use, and electronic pacemakers).

However, in the years that followed “Dirt"’s success, Layne and Demri drifted apart, and their engagement broke sometime in 1994, although she features in the cover of Mad Season’s “Above”. Mad Season was an American rock super group formed in 1994 as a side project of members of other bands in the Seattle grunge scene (Layne was the lead singer with Pearl Jam’s guitarist Mike McCready, drummer Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees and bassist John Baker Saunders). Mad Season released only one album, “Above”, in March 1995.

Later Life and Death

Due to her heroin addiction and her heart condition, she was in and out of the hospital for a couple years. She had open heart surgery and had a pig valve and pacemaker inserted in her heart in 1994, Although she went to rehab several times, it didn’t work to her, and sometimes had to turn to theft and prostitution to get some money for the drugs. When she struggled with addiction she ended up homeless, often couch surfing from place to place and staying with different friends and family before moving on, and carrying most of her valuable things in her suitcase.

For her last hours, she was at a friend’s house, who took her to Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington, and who recognized too late that she wasn’t doing well on the pills she’d ingested. Demri lapsed into a coma and spent the last 12 hours of her life unconscious in an intensive care unit at Evergreen Hospital, with only her mother and her aunt by her side, before doctors turned off the life-support machines on the morning of October 29, 1996. Her cause of death was an accute intoxication and the combined effects of opiate, meprobamate and butalbital. She was only 27.

Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver told journalist Greg Prato in his book “Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music” that she was the one who went to Layne’s apartment to tell him that Demri had died. Friends comment that after Demri died, Layne was put on suicide watch for 24 hours.

Demri Parrott was buried at the Miller-Woodlawn Memorial Park in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, USA. Her memorial service took place on November 2 at Neighborhood Christian Center, and donations were given to Harborview Adult Medicine Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

Aftermath

Demri had a cat, Sadie. After her passing, Layne looked after him.

De Sola writes in “Alice in Chains: The Untold Story”: “People who knew very well Layne and Demri, in general, agreed and told me that Layne never surpassed Demri’s death. He was already quite reclusive in 1996" … “The last time Demri’s mother, Kathleen Austin, saw Layne Staley, was in 1997. He wanted a teddy bear that Demri Lara Parrott had and who had stayed with her at the hospital.”

Layne Staley believed that the ghost of Demri visited him just days before his April 2002 death. Layne and Alice in Chains’ bassist Mike Starr were watching television on April 4, 2002, the day before Staley died of a heroin overdose. Layne was flipping through the channels and stumbled on the John Edward show “Crossing Over”, on which a medium claimed to speak to audience members’ dead relatives. While watching “Crossing Over”, Layne turned to Mike and said, “Demri was here last night. I don’t give a fuck if you fucking believe me or not, dude. I’m telling you: Demri was here last night.” Demri’s mother, Kathleen Austin, heard this story from Starr after Layne’s death and relayed the story to David de Sola (and it was corroborated by musician Jason Buttino). She said she believes her daughter was there that night “to be there with Layne as he’s doing his transition.”

Layne Staley died aged 34 on April 5, 2002 due to an overdose, and his funeral was held at the same place he intended to marry Demri, Kiana Lodge on Bainbridge Island. Demri’s mother, Kathleen Austin got that teddy bear back after being found in the things Layne left after his death. She also has Demri’s engagement ring that Layne gave her. Alice in Chains’ guitarist Jerry Cantrell took care of the cat Sadie when Layne died.

***

Links:

Remember Layne blog runned by friend Barbara - Demri entries

Remembering Demri flickr photo albums runned by friend Barbara

Barbara Dearaujo’s livejournal - Demri entries

Demri Parrott Site on facebook

Demri Lara Parrott tribute on instagram

Demri Parrott on instagram

Groupies Outrageously tumblr blog - Demri entries

Find a Grave

David de Sola blog - Demri entries

[modelartist-demri]

Demri Parrott's birthday galore!

To celebrate Demri Lara Parrott's birthday, we decided to share all the photos we have of her with all of you!!!! You are reading well!!!!

We have them stored at google photos, by date (when known), so here is the album we are sharing and its link. All photos can be found on the net, but we thought why not sharing our collection? Why do we have it, other wise?

So enjoy them and feel free to add photos if you'd like it too!

(PS: if the photos are copyrighted and you post them online and the owner contacts you is not our problem, they are "private" in these albums. You post them at your own risk)

[modelartist-demri]

1992 - Demri Parrott (R) and Fabiola Gonzalez by Cliff Feulner in Arlington (WA).

For this particular photoshot, Fabiola remembers:  “It was her who brought us to this location for a shoot. She wanted farmlands and horses, and piggies, and dirt roads aligned with wild flowers. Her vision totally. Her memories of her childhood.“ 

Shared by Fabiola on facebook.

Please, check out:

OUR DEMRI PICTURE COLLECTION HOSTED AT GOOGLE PHOTOS

DEMRI’S BIO AND MEMORIES “BOOK” HOSTED AT GOOGLE DRIVE

VIDEOS OF DEMRI HOSTED AT GOOGLE DRIVE

[modelartist-demri]

New post in my blog!

[modelartist-demri]

Grateful despite everything

I have uploaded at VEF some more Demri uncensored photos that Cliff Feulner took of her and were published in the 1990s at Penthouse magazine, both in the US and internationally. I can send you the link if you request it in a private direct message but I wanr you know that I just login here twice a month.

It's not all of them (yet). Hopefully one day we will be able to live in a free world and share content without being censored, we are in the 21st century. Women can love women, Demri was isexual, and these photos are just posed photos, not real s*x between them.

I hope, despite all the hate and jealousy and secrecy, next year is a better year for the Demri community online. We should support each other, instead of fighting one another or claiming knowing all the facts and all this drama.

I'll see all of you on my blogspot blog for Demri and just reblogging here new content.

[modelartist-demri]

𝖯𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝗒 𝖠𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝖣𝗒𝖾𝗋; 𝖫𝗈𝗌 𝖠𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗌, 𝖢𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗇𝗂𝖺, 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟤; 𝖲𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖾 𝖻𝗒 @rocknreelreviews

“More than anything, I am so sad that Layne and Demri were good people and had to go through such sorrow, life could be so different and wonderful for them now. I remember when Demri died people were using the phrase, ‘What a waste’. Kathleen was hurt by that and would say, ‘My daughter's life wasn't a waste’. I felt it was a 'waste' in that Demri did not get all the great things she deserved back in life. I think we all would have loved to see that happen for her. People think of a drug addict wasting their life away but Demri kept up with me and I do not think she wasted a minute, let alone a second, she just got derailed.”

—𝖠𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 𝖥𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗈, 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽.

[modelartist-demri]

where r u finding all these cool stories and tidbits about Demri? I've never heard them before.

I get all my stories from the online book put together by @littlequeenies and memoriesofdemri. Sometimes they will be sent to me or I find them on social media.

[modelartist-demri]

You said that Demri would act in commercials and do advertisements, do you happen to know which ones? I'd like to see her in the commercials!!!! and also all the ads or if she was in catalogs for magazines or something. Thank you, I love your blog, thank you for sharing always interesting content!

“Her dream job was to be an actress or continue modeling as an adult woman. Due to her size she'd get called for kid ADs.”

“Demri was in the movie 'Singles' but Cameron cut her parts because she looked loaded or greyish. Can't remember, but she was really hurt. They cut Demri's scene getting a boob job with Bridget Fonda. I'd try to reach out [to get the footage], all he can say is 'No'. Demri and I tried so she could have it for her acting reel but he insisted it was bad.”

—𝖠𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 𝖥𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗈, 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝖣𝖾𝗆𝗋𝗂.

Thank you for your support and kind words! Sadly, I don’t know what commercials or advertisements she was in but I dearly hope they will surface. Amber has mentioned her being in commercials but didn’t give specifics. She modeled for Penthouse and Hustler magazine through the years 1991-1994.

𝖯𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝗒 𝖢𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖿 𝖥𝖾𝗎𝗅𝗇𝖾𝗋; 𝖲𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 @littlequeenies, 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟦

[modelartist-demri]

𝖯𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝖣𝖾𝖻𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗁 𝖦𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗇 𝗈𝗇 𝖥𝖺𝖼𝖾𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄; 𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟣

[modelartist-demri]

Poem by Stormy Lee Rollins for her late friend, Demri Parrott. From her instagram account.

[modelartist-demri]

Are there any photographs of the art/decoupage that Demri would create? Thank you!

𝖥𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝖣𝗈𝗆 𝖯𝖾́𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗇𝗈𝗇 𝖻𝗈𝗑 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗉𝖺𝗀𝖾𝖽, 𝖲𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝗉𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖫𝖺𝗒𝗇𝖾. 𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗋𝖽 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈 𝗂𝗌 𝖨 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖾 𝖺 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿. 𝖥𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝖠𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 𝖥𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗈; 𝖲𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝖪𝗋𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖺 𝖪𝖺𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟢

[modelartist-demri]

2 posts today on my blog!

[modelartist-demri]

The entire document has been updated. Several new stories, memories and photos were added. It was fun working on this “book”, editing it, and just being creative with it. @littlequeenies ♡

❀ ❀ ❀

“We lived in the same apartment building as he [Layne] and Demri in 1990-91, and it was a mellow building, Eastlake at Fairview back then.

The day I met him, I had been invited down by Demri, I walked in and he’d just gotten back from the first European tour. He was polite and very soft spoken. We exchanged pleasantries and then I said: ‘Your singing voice is phenomenal, but you’re a quiet kinda guy, huh? I can’t believe that voice come out of you. It’s nice to meet you.’ He handed me a demo of Facelift and I didn’t think to ask him at the time for his autograph. I carried that tape around for probably five years, hoping to run into him for that reason.

Long story short, my then 10-year-old daughter had been friends with Demri. I met her around October 1990, when we moved into that building. My daughter would get home from school around 3:30 or so and Demri would let her into the building.

My daughter was very excited one day when I got home from work: ‘Mom, Demri wants to meet you! Can we go down there?’ I dropped my bag and we wandered down there. Demri said she’d been wanting to meet me and I told her that she is all my daughter has been talking about: how cool she was, how cute her apartment was, etc., and that I was glad to meet her finally. She gave me a tour of the apartment, and while my daughter was prattling on about all of the dried flower bouquets pinned to the walls, Demri gave me the downlow word that she doesn’t use drugs when she knows the girl is going to be around.

I thanked her for that, and replied that I appreciated her looking after my girl and letting her in to the building after school. Demri goes ‘Well, I don’t want you to think that we’re all just laying around here with needless hanging out of our arms.’ ‘That’s good,’ I’m thinking.

Demri and I went out to Harry’s bar once in the year that followed, and then I ran into her at the Catwalk one Saturday night down near Pioneer Square – years later, about 3 months before she died.

She and Layne were both very nice people, but the drug life got its hold into both of them, and because I had a kid to raise I couldn’t hang with that crowd.

My daughter still has all the photos that Demri gave her – some of her and Layne, and several from some pro photoshoots that Demri did.”

[modelartist-demri]

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘻 𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬; 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘳𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘳𝘪'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 1989

[modelartist-demri]

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘻; 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘳𝘪 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 1989

[modelartist-demri]

Brochure from Demri’s memorial service, which was held on November 2, 1996. It has a yellow rose on the cover, a poem by Anne Lindgren Davison on the left side, Demri’s birth and death dates and other information about the service on the right. “Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free I’m following the path God laid for me. I took His hand when I heard his call I turned my back and left it all. I could not stay another day To laugh, to love, to work, to play. Tasks left undone must stay that way I’ve found that peace at the close of the day. If my parting has left a void Then fill it with remembered joy. A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss, Ah, yes, these things I too will miss. Be not burdened with times of sorrow I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow. My life’s been full, I savored much Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch. Perhaps my time seemed all too brief Don’t lengthen it with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me God wanted me now; He set me free”. 📸: shared by Marisi Sojit and posted by “Comunidad Alice in Chains Chile” Facebook group

From Memories of Demri instagram account