A HEART THAT NEVER MENDED: Neena Pacholke who killed herself just weeks before wedding, lost high school love to brain cancer
WAUSAU, WISCONSIN: Neena Pacholke, the 27-year-old news anchor of News 9 died by apparent suicide on August 27. She was reportedly dealing with a lot of mental health issues that were rooted in the tragedies she faced in her life. Cops were called to her home after her friends got worried.
According to The Daily Mail, the friends of Neena Pacholke requested a welfare check after she threatened to kill herself that morning. The news of her death was confirmed by News 9 in an official statement. Her older sister Kaitlynn Pacholke too shared the sad news saying, “She was just like a little ball of sunshine, and her smile was massive” adding, “My sister was by far the happiest person I thought I knew.” Neena’s friends shared that she was battling depression that became severely worse in recent months.
READ MORE
'Local Legend': Tributes pour in after beloved NBC anchor Wendy Rieger, 65, dies of brain cancer
Who is Gary Waddell's wife? Longtime Channel 8 host, 77, dies of Covid complications
The tragic past of Neena Pacholke
According to the Daily Mail, Neena was about to marry Kyle Haase in six weeks. The 38-year-old is a divorced father of two children who settled his divorce in March 2022. It is not clear how exactly the two met and for how long they had been dating. The two were reportedly living together. However, Haase was not at home when Neena died. Haase is yet to comment on Neena’s death.
Neena, who was reportedly suffering from mental health issues, also overcame a teenage tragedy earlier. Neena reportedly lost her first love, Jordan Harris, to brain cancer in 2013. Her friends revealed that her depression had become severely worse in the last few months. Neena in an interview in 2016 recalled her heartbreak describing how she was in the room with Jordan when he died three years earlier. Jordan was 18 at the time of his death. She continued to fundraise for cancer research in his memory. Neena's best friend and former colleague Ally Peters shared that the late news anchor had come to terms with Jordan's death but always missed him.
The unfortunate news of Neena’s demise was shared by the News 9 channel in an official statement. The statement read, “The entire team here at News 9 are absolutely devastated by the loss as we know so many others are as well.”
The statement further said, “Neena loved this community and the people who lived here. She was a kind person with a big heart and a contagious smile and we will miss her greatly.” Neena is survived by her mother, sister, fiance, and father, Aaron. Neena Pacholke joined the news station as a multimedia journalist in May 2017. She graduated from the University of South Florida and was a former USF, Freedom High women’s basketball player.
