Ashley Judd Says Mom Naomi's Cause of Death Was Self-Inflicted Firearm Wound

etonline.com:

Naomi Judd's cause of death has been confirmed. The country music legend died at age 76 from a self-inflicted firearm wound, her daughter Ashley Judd said in a emotional pre-taped interview with Diane Sawyer, which aired on Thursday's episode of Ashley opened up about Naomi's battle with mental illness. “She used a weapon…my mother used a firearm,” she said. “So that’s the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing, but understand that we’re in a position that if we don’t say it someone else is going to.”The actress said her decision to share the heartbreaking news is that she wanted to be the one to confirm it before it would “become public without our control.«Recalling her mother's final day, Ashley explained, „It was a mixed day.

I visit with my mom and pop every day when I’m home in Tennessee, so I was at the house visiting as I am every day. Mom said to me, ‘Will you stay with me?’ and I said, ‘Of course I will.’…I went upstairs to let her know that her good friend was there and I discovered her.

I have both grief and trauma from discovering her.“Ashley shared that her stepfather, Larry Strickland, was traveling on the day her mom passed, and she was left with making the difficult call to tell him what happened.»I was in high functioning shock and we all grieve in our own way and I just said, 'Pop, I love you and I am with you ...' and then had to, obviously, say the next piece but that’s how we are as a family, we love each other and we are with each other.«While Ashley said discussing her mother's death is hard for her, she wants to help raise awareness for the reality of mental illness.