Naomi Judd’s manner of death has been officially released, showing that the country singer took her own life, according to an autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office in Nashville.
The report stated that the 76-year-old singer was found “unresponsive in her home by family” at 10:57 a.m. local time on April 30.
“She had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and was transported to Williamson Medical Center where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival,” the document also says.
The autopsy revealed that Judd had a lengthy medical history, struggling with “significant” anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, chronic idiopathic pneumonitis, hepatitis C, hypertension and hypothyroidism.
“Per family, the decedent has had prior suicidal ideations and recent life stressors,” the report also said. “A weapon and a note with suicidal connotations were found near the decedent at the scene.”
It was suspected that Judd’s cause of death was a suicide within days of her passing, as the country star had been experiencing a public battle with mental health, and early reports corroborated those suspicions.
On May 12, her daughter Ashley confirmed on “Good Morning America” that her mother had shot herself and that the actress had “discovered” her.
“She used a weapon. My mother used a firearm,” the actress told Diane Sawyer on the show. “So that’s the piece of information we are very uncomfortable sharing.”
The autopsy report revealed that the gunshot “perforated through the right side of the scalp and entered the skull through an entrance-type gunshot wound.”
The toxicology report released alongside the autopsy report revealed the singer also had several drugs in her system at the time of death, including those used to treat insomnia, Parkinson’s disease, depression and seizures.
Earlier this month, members of Judd’s family asked that a court seal investigation reports and recordings about her suicide, claiming that releasing the investigation records would cause “significant trauma and irreparable harm.”
The family petitioned Williamson County Chancery Court to keep the records sealed. An Associated Press report revealed that the request was filed by the singer’s husband, Larry Strickland, and her daughters Ashley and Wynonna Judd.
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