Judd died Apr 30th
New details emerge in the death of Naomi Judd, who passed away Saturday, April 30th at the age of 76. People reports that multiple sources confirm that Judd committed suicide following a public longtime battle with mental illness.
Judd’s rep told Fox News Digital on Monday, “There is an investigation by law enforcement and the coroner’s office.”
Judd was one half of the Grammy-winning The Judds with daughter Wynonna. Both Wynonna and sister Ashley Judd announced the news in a joint statement following her death.
“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” their statement reads. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
Details surrounding her death were not revealed with her publicist sharing a statement from her family stating no additional information will be released at this time. Her husband of 32 years, Larry Strickland, will not be making any further statements as the Judd family requests privacy during this time.
Wynonna and Ashley appeared Sunday (May 1st) to honor their mother as The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at its annual Medallion Ceremony. Despite their grievances, the family asked that the ceremony still honor The Judds as members of Class of 2021 as planned.
While neither sister shared too much information, Ashley apologized to the crowd of 800, stating, “I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today.”
“It’s a very strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed.” Wynonna shared during her time on stage.
Wynonna recounted her mother’s final moments, saying Naomi had passed away at 2:20 pm after reciting Psalm 23 with family gathered by her side. The country star said she kissed her mother’s forehead before walking away and didn’t speak again until the Hall of Fame induction.
The two sisters recited the Bible verse in its entirety at the end of their emotional speeches. Wynonna kissed the sky and then they walked off stage together.
Naomi was an advocate for mental health, revealing she had suffered from suicide depression in her 2016 book, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope. She shared an open letter with People at the time of the book’s release, stating, in part, “People who commit suicide are experiencing problems with mood, impulse control and aggression, all of which involve discrete circuits in the brain that regulate these aspects of human experience, but we still don’t understand how these circuits go haywire in the brains of suicide victims.”
The Judds, one of the most successful duos in country music history and pioneers for women in country music, made a triumphant return to the CMT Music Awards performing their iconic hit, “Love Can Build a Bridge” last month. They had also announced their first tour in over a decade, The Final Tour, with nearly all ten dates selling out.
CMT will honor Judd with CMT Remembers Naomi Judd, which premieres May 3rd. The special includes appearances, commentary and reactions from Wynonna, Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride and more.
