Naomi Judd’s official autopsy report has been released to the public, and it reveals she left a suicide note for her family before taking her own life.
According to the report obtained by The Blast, Naomi was found in her home after suffering from a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound to the head. The report states that she had a “past medical history significant for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder,” and other major medical ailments.
The authorities investigating the death revealed in the final report that the family told them Naomi has had “prior suicidal ideations” and was going through a recent “life stressor” at the time of her death.
Specifically, a weapon and “a note with suicidal connotations” were found near her at the scene.
Naomi Judd Was On Several Prescription Medications At Time Of Her Death
The legal documents state the 76-year-old singer was “discovered unresponsive in her home by family on April 30, 2022. She had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and was transported to Williamsson Medical Center where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.”
Several prescription medications were found in Judd’s system after investigators conducted a toxicology report of her blood. The drugs included “etomidate, clonazepam, primidone, venlafaxine, trazodone, and memantine.” The report reveals the list includes medications for the treatment of insomnia and seizure disorders and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. She was also reportedly taking several anti-depressants at the time of her death. No street drugs were detected in her system.
As one can imagine, the report gives a vivid and tragic description of the gunshot wound to the head, that we are choosing not to describe here. But, the cause of death has officially been ruled a “gunshot wound of the head” and the manner of death is “suicide.”
Ashley Judd Stayed With Her Mother Waiting For Paramedics To Arrive
As we reported, approximately one month after her mother passed away, daughter Ashley Judd, 54, appeared on “Good Morning America” and informed Diane Sawyer and the world that her mother had taken her own life with a firearm.
“My mother used a firearm, so that’s the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing,” she said at the time. Although the family didn’t want that information to be publicly known, she admitted, “But understand we’re in a position that if we don’t say it, someone else is going to.”
A new court filing released by The Daily Beast earlier this month revealed that Naomi Judd was still alive after she had discharged the weapon, and Ashley had stayed by her mother’s side for as long as thirty minutes while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. The documents describe Ashley as being in a state of “clinical shock, active trauma and acute distress” when she spoke to law enforcement officials who arrived on the scene.
In her interview with GMA, Ashley also discussed her mother’s struggle with mental health, which the “Love Can Build A Bridge” singer had been very candid about.
“When you’re talking about mental illness, it’s important to distinguish between the loved one and the disease,” Ashley explained, adding, “My mother knew that she was seen and she was heard in her anguish and she was walked home.
Larry Strickland Describes Naomi Judd As ‘Fragile’ Before Her Death
Larry Stickland married Naomi Judd in 1989 and they stayed together for over thirty years. He spoke about his late wife at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, during CMT’s “Naomi Judd: A River of Time” special in May.
“Namoi never met a stranger,” Larry said, as reported by PEOPLE. “Much to my displeasure, she would start a conversation with anyone who made eye contact with her, and we would end up standing 10, 20, 30 minutes on a sidewalk while she talked to a complete stranger about their passions and their dog.”
He described a time when Naomi flew alone from Austria to Nashville for the Country Music Hall of Fame Ceremony, which took place only one day after she took her own life. Larry noted that it was unusual for his wife to fly alone.
“I was really scared to death about her flying alone all the way from Vienna back to Nashville cause I knew how fragile she was,” he recalled. Many fans and famous friends continue to mourn her loss in the country music community.
