Country icon Naomi Judd was tormented by loss of singing voice before suicide, police notes reveal
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE: Country music legend Naomi Judd was tormented by the fact that she was losing her esteemed singing voice before she died by suicide, police notes have revealed.
Notes taken by the investigator who first responded to the Grammy-winning singer’s Tennessee home reportedly revealed how her deteriorating singing voice and an upcoming tour may have triggered her decision to end her life before she fatally shot herself on April 30, 2022. The mortally wounded country queen lay dying in the arms of her distraught daughter Ashley, 54, as they waited for an ambulance. She was 76 at the time of her death.
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“Naomi had started losing her voice 10-12 years ago,” read notes by the Williamson County Sheriff's deputy obtained by Radar Online. “She probably doesn’t have one now.” The journal continued, “Live Nation concert, 8 shows after induction (into the Country Music Hall of Fame), she was high drama,” apparently referring to an upcoming tour with her daughter Wynonna Judd. A Live Nation press release from April 11, 2022, suggested that Naomi was excited to get back on the road despite suffering fits of mania and having “threatened to kill herself half a dozen times," per the investigator's notes. “The fans have always been my family of choice,” the singer said in the press release. “I love them dearly, so I’m chompin’ at the bit to belt out our hits and reconnect with them once again. The cherry on top is singing with my beloved, wild, and extremely talented daughter… the best singer of any genre, Wynonna! She asked me if I was still going to twist, twirl and crack jokes. I answered, 'Heck yeah! I’m too old to grow up now!'"
The mother-daughter duo was reportedly preparing for an eight-city farewell tour beginning in September 2022. However, a family source told Radar Online that Naomi's inner circle was worried she was in mental anguish over the upcoming shows. Wynonna, however, believed her mother could pull off one last hurrah on stage. “Over the years, Wynonna had to practically drag her mom kicking and screaming to do the various Judds reunion tours they’ve staged, but Naomi always snapped right into her role in the duo and performed wonderfully,” the insider said. “Wy didn’t think this short tour would be any different, but for Naomi, her mental health had just declined, so the least bit of pressure sent her over the edge.” Wynonna and her husband are said to have arrived at the suicide scene about 20 minutes after first responders found her mother splayed out in bed with a gunshot wound and a suicide note nearby. MEAWW previously reported how the heartbreaking note, scribbled on a post-it pad, stated, "Do not let Wy come to my funeral. She’s mentally ill," with the word “not" underlined.
Tormented country queen Naomi Judd left a final devastating message for her singing partner daughter Wynonna — banning her from her funeral, https://t.co/Mxnrua1O5F can exclusively reveal. https://t.co/ejMGfG816e
— Radar Online (@radar_online) January 17, 2023
A family source told Radar Online that Wynonna attended her mother's funeral nonetheless. “Naomi had suffered from mental illness and suicidal thoughts for years, and Wynonna suffered right along with her,” the source told the outlet. “They toured the world and became music superstars as The Judds, but that also caused a lot of conflicts.” The insider insisted that Wynonna “just has to continue to believe" her mother did not mean what she wrote.