Mindy McCready: Four Possible Previous Suicide Attempts Before She Ultimately Took Her Own Life

L.A. Times music writer Mikael Wood recounts other times the late country singer seemingly tried to kill herself

By Natalie Finn, Marcus Mulick Feb 21, 2013 5:15 AMTags
Watch: Mindy McCready's Past Suicide Attempts

It's becoming increasingly clear just how unhappy Mindy McCready was for a long, long time.

The late country artist, who fatally shot herself on Sunday, appears to have attempted suicide four times over the past seven years.

McCready overdosed on pills and alcohol in July 2005, two months after she was hospitalized with injuries suffered at the hands of boyfriend Billy McKnight, who was later convicted of domestic assault. The "Guys Do It All the Time" singer was also facing legal troubles related to a DUI bust and probation violation stemming from her conviction the previous year of using a fake prescription to buy OxyContin. 

"She was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Florida," Los Angeles Times music writer Mikael Wood recounted to E! News. "She had been hospitalized for drugs and alcohol, an apparent suicide attempt."

McKnight was by her side, the pair having reconciled by then.

McCready overdosed again in September 2005, this time on antidepressants, while pregnant with her and McKnight's son, Zander

"He turned out to be OK, but there was a third attempt in 2008," Wood said. McCready was hospitalized in Nashville that December after paramedics were called to her home and found her with wounds on her wrists.

Then came a fourth attempt in 2010, Wood noted, referring to her hospitalization for an overdose in Cape Coral, Fla. At the time, authorities couldn't definitively say whether the incident was accidental or not.

"The fifth suicide attempt was the one that took her life," he said.

Tune in to E! News Thursday at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. for more on the life and death of Mindy McCready