LITTLE ROCK — Troubled country music star Mindy McCready, whose platinum singing career was shadowed by substance abuse and suicide attempts, was found dead on Sunday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Arkansas sheriff said.
Report by Reuters
She was 37.
McCready’s body was found on the porch of a house in Heber Springs, Arkansas, on Sunday afternoon. She was pronounced dead at the scene “from what appears to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound”, the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Deputies had been dispatched to the area following reports of “shots fired”, the Sheriff’s Office said.
McCready, whose albums include Ten Thousand Angels and If I Don’t Stay the Night, had a complicated personal life, marked by a history of substance abuse, suicide attempts, family disputes and tragedy.
Last month, record producer David Wilson, the father of her youngest son, was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in the same Arkansas town.
Some fellow musicians paid tribute to McCready on Twitter as news of her death spread.
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“My thoughts and prayers go out to Mindy McCready and her family today,” country singer Tracy Lawrence tweeted.
Country star Carrie Underwood wrote: “I grew up listening to Mindy McCready . . . so sad for her family tonight. Many prayers are going out to them.”
Born in Fort Myers, Florida, McCready learned to sing as a child at her local Pentecostal church. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to break into the country music business at the age of 18, according to allmusic.com.
She achieved early success with her 1996 debut album, Ten Thousands Angels, which sold two million copies. Four other studio albums followed. While successful in her career, McCready’s personal life had begun to unravel in recent years.
In 2004, she was convicted of prescription drug fraud and placed on parole. Three years later, she spent time in jail for violating her parole terms. She had two young sons. Her first, Zander, was born in 2006. As her personal problems deepened, she became embroiled in a legal dispute over custody.
In November 2011, she left Florida with Zander and fled to Arkansas. McCready’s mother, who had custody of the child, filed a missing person report against her daughter and regained custody.
Her son with Wilson, Zayne, was born last year.
