Megadeth part ways with David Ellefson
Heavy metal stars Megadeth have dumped David Ellefson from their line-up after the bassist was accused of grooming an underage girl for sex.
The In My Darkest Hour rockers announced the news to fans online on Monday almost two weeks after the musicians addressed the allegations by insisting they are looking forward to "the truth coming to light".
In their social media statement, frontman Dave Mustaine wrote, "We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we are officially parting ways with him.
"We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward.
"We look forward to seeing our fans on the road this summer, and we cannot wait to share our brand-new music with the world. It is almost complete."
Ellefson previously denied the sexual misconduct claims, insisting his sexually explicit interactions with the woman - who was not underage - were "private and personal", and were only released with "ill intention" by a third party who was not authorised to have access to them.
The 56-year-old has yet to comment on his exit from the group he helped to co-found with Mustaine back in 1983. He left the band in 2002, before rejoining in 2010.
