Naomi Judd left a heartbreaking final note before taking her own life last year.
Images allegedly obtained from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in Franklin, Tennessee, reveal photos of the beloved country music icon’s last message on Tuesday.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, who was 76 when she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, reportedly wrote that she didn’t want her daughter and singing partner Wynonna, 58, at her funeral.
“Do not let Wy come to my funeral. She’s mentally ill,” Naomi appears to have written on a yellow Post-It note, underlining the word “not.”
The images, first reported on by RadarOnline, depict the note attached to documents from the investigation with a yellow evidence identification marker.
A source told the outlet that Wynonna did, in fact, attend the funeral last year. She also appeared alongside her sister, actress Ashley Judd, at the “Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration” when it was broadcast live from Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on May 15.
Naomi’s suicide noted read: “Do not let Wy come to my funeral. She’s mentally ill.”Williamson County Sheriff's OfficeAnother photograph shows what appears to be Judd’s blood-splattered bed and a gun on a bed-side table.
A police officer noted in his report that her husband, musician Larry Strickland, was traveling at the time of her death and Naomi didn’t want to be alone, according to the Daily Mail.
“Didn’t like being alone/Larry in Europe,” a deputy wrote in a handwritten memo from the event. “She threatened to kill herself a half a dozen times, guns were involved. She locked herself in her bedroom. She would threaten to shoot the people …”
The police report also indicated how Ashley, 54, was the one that discovered Naomi in her bed and called the ambulance.
However, just before her mother shot herself, the “Double Jeopardy” actress reported seeing her mom in a manic state and called the family doctor, Dr. Ted Klontz, the documents said.
Naomi reportedly yelled: “Kill me, kill me now. I don’t want to live!” Ashley then told Dr. Klontz that the Grammy winner was “having an episode” and was “yelling and crying.”
Dr. Klontz arrived and Naomi began “screaming and speaking in tongues” and Ashley tried to calm her down.
The physician had left Naomi’s bedroom for a moment to discuss her mental condition. Just moments later, Ashley discovered Naomi with a bullet wound to the head.
She reportedly told Dr. Klontz, “She did it. She finally did it.”
Naomi wrote in her death note how she wanted to keep Wynonna away from her funeral. APThe country music singer was open about her struggle with with mental health issues before her death on April 30, 2022, at her Tennessee home.
In the weeks after her mother’s death, Ashley sat down with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” and candidly opened up about her grief.
The “Divergent” actress noted how her family was weary about disclosing how her mother perished to the public before the news officially surfaced.
“There are some things that we would just like to retain as a family,” Ashley said. “Both sister and Pop [stepfather Larry Strickland] have sort of deputized me in certain ways to speak on behalf of the family at this early time before things about the 30th of April become public without our control.”
The “Missing” star was the one who found her mother with a bullet wound in her head.Wade Payne/Invision/AP“Once I say it, it cannot be unsaid,” Ashley sobbed. “She used a weapon … my mother used a firearm. 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 Judd family declined to comment on the apparent suicide note when reached by The Post, but previously filed a lawsuit in an attempt to keep information about Naomi’s final moments from going public.
“I don’t know that we’ll be able to get the privacy we deserve … I do know that we’re not alone,” Ashley said in an essay after her mother’s death. “We feel deep compassion for Vanessa Bryant and all families that have had to endure the anguish of a leaked or legal public release of the most intimate, raw details surrounding a death.”
The Grammy winner struggled with mental health issues for many years.APAshley then explained how she hoped that revealing the truth about her mom’s death will urge others who are suffering with mental illness to get help.
“My mother knew that she was seen and she was heard in her anguish, and she was walked home,” she said.
The “Frida” actress added: “When we’re talking about mental illness, it’s very important to be clear and to make the distinction between our loved one and the disease. It’s very real, and it lies, it’s savage.”
Wynonna, Naomi and Ashley Judd appeared together during Wynonna’s concert in Ashland, Kentucky, on Jan. 19, 2002.APNaomi left both of her daughters out of her will and instead appointed her husband as the executor of her estate.
The “Love Can Build a Bridge” singer signed the document five years before her suicide and was of “sound mind and disposing memory” when she inked the paper.
Following their mother’s passing, Ashley and Wynonna released a heartbreaking statement, saying: “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.”
Naomi declined to put her daughters in her will before she passed on. WireImage“We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”
The Judds have also been highly critical of potential media coverage of their family tragedy.
Naomi posed for a series of portraits in 2005 in Los Angeles.Getty ImagesThe family dropped a lawsuit last December that they filed to try to stop the public release of police images showing Naomi’s death and to seal the report of the investigation.
“Those who are victims of losing a loved one to suicide shouldn’t be re-victimized again,” a statement from the Judds read, according to the Guardian.
Meanwhile, Wynonna continues on the “The Judds: Final Tour,” with live concerts — featuring an all-star lineup of stars ranging from Brandi Carlile to Tanya Tucker — booked through at least Feb. 25.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
