Bobby Brown's life has been plagued by deaths of near ones, from Whitney Houston to two of his young children
Bobby Brown's life has been riddled with tragedies and heartbreaks. The singer-songwriter's suffering has often stemmed from a deep loss, particularly of his loved ones, and this time around it was his son Bobby Jr. The 28-year-old was found dead at his home in the early hours of Thursday, November 19. The news comes nearly five years after the singer lost his daughter, Bobbi Kristina, whom he saw taking her last breaths right in front of him.
Bobby, 51, has had seven children from his relationship with four different women. The singer's oldest child, Landon, was born in 1986 to Melika Williams. After his separation from Williams, he had two children — daughter La’Princia and son Bobby Jr. — with Kim Ward. He later went on to have a famous relationship with legendary singer Whitney Houston, and the pair had a daughter together - Bobbi Kristina. After Bobby separated from Whitney, he had three more children with Alicia Etheredge, with his youngest child, daughter Hendrix, born in 2016. His first child with Etheredge, son Cassius, was born in 2009, and daughter Bodhi in 2016.
The first tragedy struck Bobby with the death of Whitney in 2012. The singer was found unresponsive in her bathtub. When she was found, she was face down in the bathtub filled with water, her face covered with scars, injuries, and marks. The official cause of her death was listed as an accidental drowning, contributed by cocaine use and heart disease.
A little more than three years later, the daughter they shared together — Bobbi Kristina — met the same tragic fate. She was eerily discovered in the same circumstances as her late mother. Bobbi was found unresponsive in a bathtub filled with water, with a mix of drugs and alcohol in her system. Although she did not succumb immediately, Bobbi spent four months in a coma with her father staying close by her side during her final moments. She was just 22 when she died and a coroner ruled her death as drowning after being found to have toxic levels of cocaine and alcohol in her system.
“Krissy was and is an angel. I am completely numb at this time,” Bobby said in a statement through Hello. “My family must find a way to live with her in spirit and honor her memory. Our loss is unimaginable. We thank everyone for the prayers for Krissy and our family as we mourn my baby girl." He later gave a statement to ABC News, saying he told his daughter to go join her mother in her final moments. "Hardest thing I had to do in my life was tell my daughter to let go… I don’t wish that on my worst enemy or any enemy,” he said. “That is the worst pain in the world."
Bobby and the family's other members reportedly believed that Bobbi met her fate because of her relationship with Nick Gordon, who also later died from a heroin overdose. Gordon's autopsy stated that the cause of his death was a heroin overdose, with the Maitland Police Department revealing that Gorden had snorted a line of the drug and knocked back shots of tequila in his final hours.
Bobby is now again faced with the death of his son Bobby Jr. Although a cause of death is yet to be established, authorities suspect no foul play and an investigation has been launched.