Five days before Mindy McCready died of an apparent suicide, she dipped into a dark despair after she was reportedly served with a proposed court order that would send her two sons to live with her long-estranged mother in Florida.
Private investigator Danno Hanks, who knew McCready for several years, told People that the mom to Zayne, 10 months, and Zander, 6, had “lost all hope” after receiving the notice from the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Children and Family Services.
Hanks told the magazine, “She said, ‘I’m losing my kids. I can’t live without my kids!’”
McCready’s troubled life came to an end at age 37. Police said she shot herself in the head at her Heber Springs, Ark. home, the same spot where her boyfriend David Wilson died five weeks earlier. The star also shot her defenseless dog. (UPDATE: Authorities in Arkansas say preliminary autopsy results confirm country music singer’s death was a suicide.)
A police source told People that authorities arrived to a harrowing scene: “Food was out, it smelled really bad, the dog had pooped everywhere on the floor.”
The source added that bottles of prescription pills could be found on the night stand, the bathroom and on the kitchen counter.
The country singer had a lengthy struggle with addiction and mental-health issues. She had attempted suicide in 2008 when she took a number of pills and cut her wrists, cops said.