Authorities investigating death of M.I.A. singer and Avalon bar owner near Chicago

Law enforcement authorities in suburban Chicago are investigating the death of a Costa Mesa Bar owner and singer for the punk band M.I.A. who was found with head wounds outside of a hotel near O’Hare Airport Thursday morning.

A woman found Michael Conley, owner of the Avalon Bar in Costa Mesa, lying in the parking lot of a hotel in Leyden Township near Melrose Park about 5:40 p.m. Thursday. Conley, who was unresponsive, was near the curb and appeared to have a head wound, said Penny Mateck, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff. The woman tried to revive him with CPR and later called 911. Conley was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, and was pronounced dead about 6:25 a.m. The death is under investigation, pending autopsy results from the Cook County medical examiner’s office, Mateck said.

Conley had been in staying in Chicago for about 10 days to work on a building renovation project, Mateck said, and authorities are unsure why he was found at the hotel with no car, Mateck said.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].