Singer Brad Delp's death is ruled a suicide

CONCORD, N.H. -- The death of Brad Delp, the singer for the 1970s rock band Boston, was a suicide, police said yesterday.

Delp's family confirmed the suicide at his Atkinson home on Friday.

Toxicology tests by the state medical examiner's office showed that Delp committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, said Lieutenant William Baldwin. Delp left two notes taped to a door and letters to his family and his fiancee, Pamela Sullivan.

Baldwin said police do not know the contents of the letters because they were sealed.

Delp, 55, was a native of Danvers, Mass. He had planned to marry Sullivan this summer during a tour with Boston. Delp, a lifelong Beatles fan, also played with Beatles tribute band Beatlejuice.

"He was a man who gave all he had to give to everyone around him, whether family, friends, fans, or strangers," the family statement said. "He gave as long as he could, as best he could, and he was very tired. We take comfort in knowing that he is now, at last, at peace."

The family's statement said Sullivan, Delp's children, and their mother, his former wife Micki Delp, were grateful for the sympathy they had received and asked that their privacy be respected.

The funeral will be private, with a public memorial service at a later date.