Country star Mindy McCready 'dead from suicide' age 37

Tragic country music star Mindy McCready has committed suicide at age 37, just days after she was released from rehab because doctors deemed her 'mentally stable.'

Multiple reports from family and friends say McCready shot herself dead. Her body was found at her home in Heber Springs, Arkansas.

The final weeks of McCready's life have been tumultuous. A judge ordered her into rehab after she admitted she had been drinking too much after her boyfriend David Wilson was found shot dead last month.

She spent just two days in a treatment facility before she was allowed to go home earlier this month.

'She was released because they think she is mentally stable enough, and she was tested for drugs and alcohol and everything came up fine,' a source told E! News. 'Nothing illegal came up.'

'One of the reasons they released her is she didn't have any symptoms of what an alcoholic would have. There were no signs she had a problem to the doctor.'

Her two children remain in foster care.

E! News, NBC reporter Andrea Canning and Fox Nashville reporter Stacy McCloud all report that McCready's family have said she was found dead in her home and that she had shot herself.

Wilson's death on January 13 at the couple's home in Heber Springs was initially reported as a suicide. However, police later said they were treating the case as suspicious and the investigation remains open.

McCready had denied any involvement in his death.

McCready's career hit its peak in 1996 with her debut single 'Ten Thousand Angels' and the subsequent hit 'Guys Do It All the Time,' which climbed to number one on the country music charts.

Earlier this month, McCready was ordered to complete up to 21 days of outpatient treatment and undergo drug and alcohol tests.

Rehab: Mindy McCready was ordered by a judge to be committed to a treatment facility due to issues stemming from her late partner's death

Troubled country singer: Mindy McCready cried as she told Dateline she 100 per cent did not kill her live-in boyfriend but admitted she did not know if he was murdered or committed suicide

McCready's two children – Zander, six, and Zayne, nine months – have been removed from her home and are currently in foster care. Zayne's father was David Wilson.

'Being involuntarily committed and having her children taken away from her was eye-opening. It helped her realize she needs to focus on putting her family back together and moving forward from this tragedy,' the unnamed source said. 'She is in a better state of mind.'

Zander's father is singer Billy McKnight, who lost custody to his son after he was accused of trying to kill McCready.

McCready's spokeswoman released a statement saying: 'As you can imagine, the tragedy of David Wilson's death has been devastating and crippling to Mindy and her entire family.

'We can confirm Mindy was admitted to an in-patient facility yesterday. While taking appropriate and much needed time to grieve, her sons have been placed in foster homes where they are comfortable and cared for.

'We have no further statement at this time. Thank you for your patience, understanding and sensitivity.'

McCready has a history of drug abuse, arrests, suicide attempts and has been in and out of rehab.

Billy McKnight told People magazine he will try to gain sole custody of his son and claims he has tued his life around since he was charged with attempted murder in 2005 after a physical altercation with his ex.

Scene of the sorrow: David Wilson died at his Heber Springs home in an idyllic part of Arkansas while Mindy was there

'I've been sober for years,' he said. 'All those problems ended when Mindy and I split up. I have been doing everything right.

'I'm gainfully employed, doing well in my career. I am clean. I live in a gated community. I can provide for Zander and give him stability.'

He said he is going to fight for his son while Mindy is in rehab - which could be for as long as 21 days.

The sheriff's office said investigators are awaiting autopsy, ballistic and toxicology reports to determine how, exactly, Wilson died.

The MailOnline revealed last week that he was due to inherit $143,000 just weeks after he killed himself.

Wilson was set to get the first of three installments from a $430,000 trust fund that was left to him when his mother Charlotte died in 2008.

The money would have arrived on February 11, which would have been his 35th birthday.

The developments raise further questions as to why Wilson would harm himself at a time when life seemed to be going so well.

He bought a new truck three weeks before his death and was living with his son Zayne, nine months.

McCready has denied point blank any involvement in his death and she is not being treated as a suspect in the case. But police in Clebue County are still investigating and have ruled nothing out. Their initial conclusions hours after the incident were that he shot himself dead.

Mental health: McCready admitted to the judge that she had tued to alcohol because she could not cope with the death of songwriter David Wilson

MailOnline can reveal that Wilson’s inheritance appears to date back to his late father Robert who died in 1986 at the age of just 48 whilst working for Shell.

Wilson himself would have been just eight at the time.

When his mother Charlotte died in 2008 at the age of 68, her $906,000 estate was split between Wilson and his brother Mark, apart from $45,000 she gave to charity.

On Wilson’s 35th birthday he would get just over $143,000, or one third of the pot. 

On his 45th birthday he would have got half of the remaining amount, and on his 55th birthday he would have got the rest.

In another twist, MailOnline can reveal that Wilson did not have a will meaning that all his possessions - including his $430,000 trust fund - will now go to his baby son Zayne.

McCready, 37,  will have ‘no claim’ at all over it, according to George Wise of Little Rock, Arkansas-based probate lawyers Brad Hendricks Law Firm.

Struggle: The country star's two son's Zander and Zayne have been placed into foster care

He said: ‘Arkansas state law does not recognise common law marriages. 

‘If there was no will in this case then she won’t have any rights. Cohabiting couples have no rights to each other’s property unless there is shared ownership of an asset like property.

‘Given that the child is so young someone will have to petition the court to set up an estate and they will be called to administer that estate.

‘It could be the person who petitions the court or it could be somebody else who administers the estate’.

Mr Wise said that in cases where there were few assets, the process could be wrapped up in as little as three months.

MailOnline has established that no documents have been filed at the Clebue County Court yet.

But once that process begins, it could lead to a bitter showdown between McCready and Wilsons’ family given that a fund worth up to $430,000 is at stake.