CELEBRITY NEWS --- Country Singer Mindy McCready Dies

Country music singer Mindy McCready has died at age 37, according to multiple reports.

The singer died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot on Sunday, the best friend of the singer told Dateline correspondent Andrea Canning. Her body was found in Heber Springs, Ark., according to a E! Online source.

According to TMZ, the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement on Sunday evening:

“At 3:31 PM, Sunday, February 17th Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired in the area of 1132 Fox Chase Drive in Heber Springs. Officers arrived on the scene at 3:58 PM and discovered the body of 37 year old Melinda Gayle McCready on the front porch of the residence at 1132 Fox Chase. Ms. McCready was pronounced dead at the scene from what appears to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. At this time family members have been notified of the incident. Ms. Mcready will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy and the matter will be fully investigated.”

McCready’s boyfriend, musician David Wilson, was found dead in January.

Earlier this month, McCready was ordered to be committed to a treatment facility.

The singer, who released her last studio album I’m Still Here in 2010, had previously faced alcohol-abuse issues. She allegedly attempted suicide in 2008 and was hospitalized. McCready had two children, sons Zander and Zayne.

Mindy McCready charted 12 titles on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart from 1996 to 2002, including three top 10s: “Ten Thousand Angels” (No. 6, 1996), “Guys Do It All the Time” (No. 1, 1996) and “A Girl’s Gotta Do (What a Girl’s Gotta Do)” (No. 4, 1997). She placed seven sets on Top Country Albums, with her debut, “Ten Thousand Angels,” marking her lone top 10 (No. 5, 1996). After an eight-year gap, she returned to the chart in 2010 with “I’m Still Here,” which spent a week at No. 71 that April.
McCready sold 1.8 million albums in the U.S. in her career, according to Nielsen SoundScan. 1.2 million if that sum came courtesy of “Ten Thousand Angels.
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