Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead at 37 of an Apparent Suicide, Self Inflicted Gun Shot Wound … Rest in Peace

The troubled life of country singer Mindy McCready has come to an end. 

Country singer Mindy McCready died Sunday afternoon at the age of 37 of an apparent suicide from what sis being reported at a self inflicted gunshot wound. The Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office is stating that deputies were dispatched to the home of McCready around 3:30 PM in Heber Springs, Arkansas after gun shots were reported.  Police found Mindy McCready on the front porch with a single self inflicted gunshot wound. McCready was pronounced dead at the scene.  McCready has had a long and troubled past in dealing with her demons. She has been arrested multiple times on drug charges and probation violations and has been hospitalized for overdoses on several occasions. McCready had attempted suicide twice before, once in 2005 and again in 2008. Also, the father of her youngest child, record producer David Wilson, was found dead in his home just last month on January 13, 2013 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mindy McCready was such a talent, but just could not deal with her demons. May she finally rest in eternal peace.

Mindy McCready “You’ll Never Know”

Mindy McCready (November 30, 1975—February 17, 2013)

Mindy McCready, the country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, “Ten Thousand Angels,” but struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son has died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. She was 37.

Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired at McCready’s Heber Springs, Ark., home at around 3:30 p.m. today.

There they found McCready on the front porch. She was pronounced dead at the scene from what appeared to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

20/20 from ABC News :  Mindy McCready Tells Her Story … Sadly she talks about living for her son Zander. That came to an end today

 More on the life and times of Mindy McCready and her star that flamed out far too quickly. Mindy McCready was a Nashville, TN sensation at the age of 20 and took the country music industry by storm. It’s just a shame and should be a wake up call to all as to the real dangers of substance abuse and major depression. Like many of the situations we have seen with mass murder violence, we really need to take a look at the mental health care system in this country. All this talent and she could not defeat the demons.

She arrived in Nashville in 1994 with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a recording contract with BNA Records.

In 1996, her “Guys Do It All the Time” hit No. 1 and its dig at male chauvinism endeared her to females. Her other hits included “Ten Thousand Angels,” also in 1996, and her album by that title sold 2 million copies.

However, personal problems plagued her beginning in 2004 and included a custody battle with her mother over one of her sons.

McCready took her older son Zander from her mother and the boy’s legal guardian, Gayle Inge, in late 2011. She fled to Arkansas without permission over what she called child abuse fears. Authorities eventually found McCready hiding in a residence without permission and took the boy into custody.

She and her boyfriend David Wilson had a son, Zayne, in April of 2012. The older son has a different father.

Maybe now Mindy McCready can finally rest in peace. I would rather remember Mindy from her early days in Nashville when her life and career seemed so promising. Mindy McCready’s lyrics of Ten Thousand Angels are rather prophetic on this sad day where she took her life … “It’s time to face my weakness, Look him in the eye. Lord knows it won’t be easy, But I’ve just gotta try.”

Mindy McCready – Ten Thousand Angels

 Speaking of the devil
 Look who just walked in
 He knows just where to find me
 Here we go again
 I can tell he’s gonna ask me to dance
 But that’s not as far as he wants to go
 I need ten thousand angels
 To help me tell him no

 Lead me not into temptation
 Heaven help me to be strong
 I can fight all that I’m feeling
 But I can’t do it alone
 Help me break this spell that I’m under
 Guide my feet and hold me tight
 I need ten thousand angels
 Watching over me tonight

 It’s time to face my weakness
 Look him in the eye
 Lord knows it won’t be easy
 But I’ve just gotta try
 I can’t let myself get lost in his arms
 That’s how I got my heart broke before
 I need ten thousand angels
 To walk me out the door

More Sacrifice from the Obama’s as US Economy and Americans Struggle … Barack Obama Plays Golf with Tiger Woods & Michelle off with the Girls Out West to Ski

SHARED SACRIFICE AND SKIN IN THE GAME FOR THEE, NOT ‘FORE’ ME …

BARACK OBAMA, THE 1% PRESIDENT: This must be more of that shared sacrifice that President Barack Obama talks about. Oh that’s right, only we peons are supposed to sacrifice, not Obama or the First family. As a matter of fact, not only is the First family not sacrificing, they are doing one better. Barack Obama, Michelle and the first kids are on separate vacations costing the tax payers double. Obama is down in Florida golfing with Tiger Woods and getting golf lessons from Butch Harmon. The golf foursome is being completed by United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Houston Astros owner Jim Crane. You know, exactly what the rest of the 99% can do every day. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama is off skiing with the girls out West on a separate vacation. As Americans continue to struggle, record numbers are on food stamps and disabilities, and individuals are still out of work … Obama sets the example and plays golf.

Just curious, where is Barack Obama’s skin in the game?

President Barack Obama hit the greens Sunday with famed golfer Tiger Woods, according to deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

Obama is spending President’s Day weekend at a sprawling resort in Palm City, Florida, where he’s polishing his golf game. On Saturday, he worked on his swing with Woods’ former coach, Butch Harmon.

The White House did permit press coverage of the golf outing Sunday.

Along with Woods, Obama played with U.S Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Jim Crane, a Democratic donor who owns the resort and the Houston Astros. Obama played with Kirk and Crane on Saturday, as well.

Danica Patrick Wins Daytona 500 Pole and Becomes First Woman to Ever to Win a Pole of Any NASCAR Top Circuit Race

Danica Patrick makes NASCAR history.

This week Danica Patrick has proved that she is not just another pretty face. Although, that’s not to say that she is not a pretty face. In a historic week of race qualifying,  Patrick has won the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to win the top spot for any NASCAR’s top circuit race. In only her second Daytona 500 she has won the first place pole position. Now she just needs to parlay this into a special run in the Holy Grail of NASCAR racing and finally earn the respect of not just the drivers, but the NSACAR fans and community. The pressure will be on Patrick heading into the Daytona 500 as she finds herself as the hunted, instead of the hunter. The previous highest female qualifier in a Cup race was Janet Guthrie, who started ninth at Bristol and Talladega in 1977. Finally Danica Patrick has done something to make news on the track and not just being a headline because who she is dating, fellow Cup rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. NASCAR veteran Jeff Gordon qualified second in the No. 24 car. Now we have to see whether Danica can perform on Sunday.  The Daytona 500 race is February 24, 2013 at 1 PM EST.

Danica Patrick has won the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any race in NASCAR’s top circuit. It was the biggest achievement of her stock-car career. “We have a lot more history to make and we’re eager to do it,” Patrick said. Patrick went out eighth in the qualifying session Sunday and covered the 2½-mile superspeedway in 45.817 seconds, averaging 196.434 mph. 

KUDOS to Danica for breaking the pole sitting barrier. Hopefully in time she can be seen as just another driver, not a female one.

Lonnie Kocontes Arrested for Murder of ex-wife Micki Kanesaki Who Went Overboard an Italian Cruise Ship into the Mediterranean on May 26, 2006 off the Island Escape

With murder, it’s never over, until it’s over …

55 year old Lonnie Kocontes was arrested Friday night on an outstanding warrant in Southwest Florida for the murder of his ex-wife Micki Kanesaki.  Kocontes was charged with special circumstances murder for financial gain in the death of his ex-wife who went overboard aboard an Italian cruise ship on  May 26, 2006 off the Island Escape in the Mediterranean. Her body was found by the Italian Coast Guard the next day, floating in the sea near Naples.

This sounds a little bit like the Gary Giordano – Robyn Gardner missing persons for profit case in Aruba. Prosecutors believe that Kocontes strangled Kaneski to death on board the ship and then threw her overboard. The arrest finally ended an investigation that started in 2008, when Kocontes began transferring more than $1 million from Kaneski’s bank accounts into joint accounts he held with his new wife. If convicted, Lonnie Kocontes faces life in state prison without the possibility of parole and is eligible for the death penalty.

He was charged with one count of special circumstances murder for financial gain, according to Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

Kocontes’ ex-wife, Micki Kanesaki, plunged into the Mediterranean on May 26, 2006, off the Island Escape, which was sailing between Sicily and Naples, according to the FBI. Her body washed ashore the next day in Calabria in southwest Italy.

Teacher Suspended at Odyssey School in Newnan, GA for Poor Judgement After Pretending to Shoot 1st Graders to Teach Them About Sandy Hook Elementary Massacre

Wow, this might be filed under one of the worst ill-conceived lesson plan ever …

With all of the rules in schools today when it comes to bringing guns to school, whether they be pink “Hello Kitty” toys or not, or the rules restricting what games children can play, like “Save the World” and even not allowing children to point their fingers like a gun … it is a bit amazing that a substitute teacher thought it would be a good idea to do the following stunt. Mariano Pacetti, a  teacher at Odyssey School in Newnan, Ga, decided to teach the children about the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre in Newtown, CT by playing a kind of hide-and-seek game where he encouraged students to hide while he pretended to be a gunman.  Pacetti pointed his finger at a student and said, “Bang you’re dead.”

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From The Blaze:

The teacher at Odyssey School in Newnan, Ga., identified as Mariano Pacetti, was playing a kind of hide-and-seek game where he encouraged students to hide while he pretended to be a gunman, the Newnan Times-Herald reported. He formed a gun with his fingers and pointed to one boy and said, “Bang you’re dead.”

School director Andy Geeter told the newspaper Pacetti “exercised poor judgement” in the activity, which some parents said gave their children nightmares, according to WAGA-TV. Twenty first-grade students and six adults were killed when a gunman shot his way into the school in Newtown, Conn. and opened fire before killing himself in December.