Suicide is Awful:Singer Mindy McCready dead at age 37

Here is a statement about her recent outpatient care

BLusk

5 minutes ago

On January 30th Mindy was ordered to go into a mental facility.  After several test were run she was released the next day and sent into Outpatient care.  She did not leave the facility on her own, she was released by the doctors when they should have kept her in inpatient care.  That is why our mental health care is so screwed up.  Maybe Obama should stop spending billions of dollars on gun control and put that money towards mental health.  

© AP/ Mindy McCready

Singer Mindy McCready dead at age 37

Feb. 17, 2013, 9:48 PM EST

HEBER SPRINGS, Arkansas (AP) — Mindy McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, died Sunday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. She was 37.

A news release from the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office said McCready was found dead with what appeared to be a single, self-inflicted wound. She was found on the front porch of a home.

Waren Olmstead, the county coroner, said McCready died Sunday in Heber Springs but couldn't immediately provide further details. He had no information on who was taking care of her two sons.

McCready arrived in Nashville in 1994 with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a recording contract with BNA Records.

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In 1996, her "Guys Do It All the Time" hit No. 1 and its dig at male chauvinism endeared her to females. Her other hits included "Ten Thousand Angels," also in 1996, and her album by that title sold 2 million copies.

However, personal problems plagued her beginning in 2004 and included a custody battle with her mother over one of her sons.

McCready took her older son Zander from her mother and the boy's legal guardian, Gayle Inge, in late 2011. She fled to Arkansas without permission over what she called child abuse fears. Authorities eventually found McCready hiding in a residence without permission and took the boy into custody.

She and her boyfriend David Wilson had a son, Zayne, in April of 2012. The older son has a different father.

In May 2010, she was hospitalized briefly after police responded to an overdose call at a home in North Fort Myers, Florida, owned by her mother. This followed a stint on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew," where she declared herself clean from drugs.

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In 2004, she was charged with obtaining the painkiller OxyContin fraudulently at a pharmacy. She pleaded guilty and was placed on three years' probation.

She violated the probation with a drunken driving arrest in May 2005. Then she attempted suicide in July 2005, overdosed in September 2005 and slit her wrists again in December 2008.

Also that year, McCready was charged in Arizona with hindering prosecution and unlawful use of transportation. Those charges stemmed from an alleged attempt in June 2005 to purchase two high performance boats, but she claimed she was trying to stop a con man.

Growing up in Fort Myers, she took seven years of private vocal lessons and later sang in karaoke bars.

Photos: Mindy McCready's life and career

After getting her recording contract, she did concert appearances with top country stars including George Strait, Tim McGraw and Alan Jackson.

Her other singles included "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," ''A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)" and "You'll Never Know."

Photos: In Memoriam 2013

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