Naomi Judd’s autopsy has validated what her daughter Ashley has stated about her famous mother’s death: the famed country singer committed suicide. According to records obtained by USA Today, the medical examiner of Williamson County, Tennessee, officially ruled that Naomi committed herself by a gunshot wound to the head, citing Naomi’s history of anxiety and melancholy.
According to the documents, she also left a “note with suicidal connotations.” Naomi died on Saturday, April 30 at the age of 76, just one day before her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Ashley, 54, a younger daughter and Double Jeopardy performer, is said to have discovered her mother. “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy,” both Wynonna and Ashley posted on social media the same day.
“We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public.” Naomi’s family, including her heartbroken husband Larry Strickland, allegedly issued a statement. We have always shared openly both the joys of being family as well its sorrows, too. One part of our story is that our matriarch was dogged by an unfair foe,” the statement read, according to USA Today.
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“The toxicology and autopsy reports are as we expected. She was treated for PTSD and bipolar disorder, to which millions of Americans can relate. We continue to reel from this devastation. We appreciate respectful privacy as we, her widower and children, mourn.” Along with her daughter Wynonna, 58, Naomi Judd became well-known as one half of the country music group The Judds.
Naomi and Wynonna achieved fourteen No. 1 singles throughout their remarkable career together and went on to win five Grammy Awards, including Best Country Song for the popular song “Love Can Build a Bridge,” which Naomi wrote. With “Mama He’s Crazy” in 1984, “Girls Night Out” in 1985, “Grandpa” in 1986, and “Turn It Loose” in 1988, they also enjoyed success on the radio. The pair ultimately split up in 1991 due to worries around Naomi’s Hepatitis C diagnosis.