Truth Is More Important Than Blame in Death Of Eddie Montgomery’s Son Hunter
On Sunday, September 27th, tragedy struck the family of country music performer Eddie Montgomery—one half of the popular country duo Montgomery Gentry. Eddie Montgomery’s 19-year-old son Hunter was taken off of life support at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington Sunday morning after what was described as an “accident” left Hunter clinging to life. At the time, further details were not disclosed.
“My son Hunter went to heaven today,” Eddie Montgomery said in a statement released on Sunday. “I appreciate all your prayers and love and thank you for giving us privacy as we grieve and say goodbye.”
Due to the celebrity status of Eddie Montgomery, not much privacy was extended, and immediately the public and the media began to speculate about what undisclosed “accident” caused the unexpected death of Hunter Montgomery.
Hunter was engaged to a woman named Davara Little, who was also the mother of his four-month-old son Bennett, but a few months previous to Hunter’s death the couple split up, and custody of Bennett went to the 21-year-old Little. Hunter Montgomery was said to be distraught over this, and immediately thoughts of the “accident” being either a drug overdose or a suicide began to swirl.
Eddie Montgomery’s ex-wife, and Hunter’s mother Tracy Nunan is who found the teen unconscious in her home. Hunter was in his room, watching ESPN when Nunan went to check on him. She found him laying unconscious on the floor, called 911 and performed CPR on Hunter. She says he responded a “little bit,” but may have been without oxygen for a while.
In the aftermath, Tracy Nunan emphatically denied that drugs were involved in Hunter’s death. Nunan works as nurse at a drug recovery center, and said she would have recognized the signs of drug use if Hunter had a problem. She also said that Hunter did take prescription pills, but did not abuse drugs. She also said she did not know why Eddie Montgomery characterized her son’s death as an “accident,” which alluded to the idea that drugs could be involved.
Tracy Nunan told the UK’s Daily Mail on Wednesday, September 30th, “I think he had a seizure, but I don’t know what brought it on. He did not do drugs and he did not experiment with drugs. I don’t know what caused his death. My Hunter just went to sleep. I am aware that the coroner has asked for toxicology tests and that is standard when someone young dies without explanation. Hunter had recently passed a drugs test for a new job. There was no drugs in his system otherwise he would not have passed.”
But on Thursday, October 1st, Tracy Nunan changed her story completely.
“Grieving the loss of a child is the most heart-wrenching experience any parent can imagine. It defies description,” she said in a statement. “Since the media refuses to respect our request for privacy, I’m taking another route in hope that we might get some peace for our grieving, and more important, in hope that Hunter’s story might help others.”
“Our son died of an overdose,” Nunan said. “We believe it was accidental and will continue to believe that. We know that he needed help. Maybe Hunter’s – and our family’s – pain will help another family avoid this. Not a day will go by without our missing him. Now that your curiosity is satisfied, please have the respect to stop hounding us. Instead, take our story and use it to help others.”
The message was posted on Facebook, but appeared to be taken down later. Meanwhile the Daily Mail article where Nunan refuted the idea that the death was an overdose remained unrevised.
The coroner’s office in Lexington, Kentucky has concluded the autopsy of Hunter Montgomery, but it will take at least three weeks before the toxicology report comes back and the coroner can determine the official cause of death.
However, even though an official cause of death has yet to be determined, multiple media outlets, including the UPI, Entertainment Tonight, and others are reporting the cause of death for Hunter Montgomery as an overdose, solely based on a statement by the mother, who 24 hours before was completely ruling out an overdose, appears to have redacted her statement, and is clearly distraught over the loss of her son.
The Daily Mail article on Hunter Montgomery’s death includes information from an interview conducted with Nunan, but then concludes with the testimony of an “unnamed source” that says the teen had been experimenting with synthetic marijuana. It also says that the Lexington, Kentucky corner, Gary Ginn, said that overdose was a “possibility,” but any cause of death can be possible ahead of the conclusive findings of a toxicology report. The way the Daily Mail set up their article on this matter, it appears to catch a grieving mother in a lie, which could have stimulated Tracy Nunan’s later confession.
The truth is we do not know how Hunter Montgomery died at this moment. Nobody does for sure. Nothing will be conclusive for at least three weeks until the toxicology arrives. Saving Country Music specifically dealt with this same coroner’s office in Lexington on another case just a few short months ago and can attest that three weeks may be an ambitions timeline to receive the toxicology results, unless a rush is ordered.
Jon Hensley, an artist manager for Wanda Jackson, Shooter Jennings, and others, passed away on June 1st, 2015 in Bowling Green, Kentucky under circumstances similar to Hunter Montgomery’s. Just like in Hunter’s case, the public immediately seized on the “accidental” nature of the death to assume it was an overdose, even though the coroner and investigator in the case cautioned the public on settling on a cause of death before the autopsy and toxicology had been concluded.
Ultimately, it was determined that the primary cause of death in Jon Hensley’s case was choking, not an overdose, though the coroner also cited that drugs, specifically levels of Xanax well above the therapeutic level, as well as a high blood alcohol levels were what likely led to the choking incident. However, not wanting the public to know that drugs and alcohol were involved, a concerted effort was undertaken by individuals close to Jon Hensley to hide the truth of the autopsy.
The reason for this was the same reason Hunter Montgomery’s mother, Tracy Nunan, initially tried to convince the public to rule out an overdose in her son’s death.
In another case of a public figure dying by accident, ladies pro golfer Erica Blasberg was in her Henderson, Nevada home on May 9th, 2010, and had died by affixing a plastic bag over her head. She had also taken large doses of Xanax right before her death, and it was ruled by the coroner to be a contributing factor. However police initially believed foul play might be involved because Blasberg’s doctor, Thomas Hess, had removed the suicide note and the Xanax pills from the scene “to spare the family embarrassment.” Hess was later charged with obstruction of justice.
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The idea that individuals and families in the public eye involved in these tragic events can seek and receive the privacy they ask for is a fairly tale in this age of social media, whether it’s fair or not. And the Freedom of Information Act ensures that such things as autopsy and toxicology reports and police records can and will be made public. No matter what the cause of death is, it is a forgone conclusion that this information will be a matter of public record and seized upon by the media, no matter how long it takes, or what attempt is made to conceal it. If anything, the free flow of facts to ferret out rumors that can be especially hurtful to families, and patience by the public until conclusive findings can be determined, is what families should insist upon from the public and media.
But the reason that families and friends work to conceal the cause of death in instances of suicides and overdoses is because they fear it will bring shame to them. But the true shame should be on the public for passing judgement on these families dealing with these tragedies. Even the most cursory study into the nature of mental health will conclude that the most well-adjusted and functional of families among us can still be faced with the serious, and sometimes fatal diseases of depression and addiction. Why death by drug overdose is seen as shameful compared to seizure or choking is a flaw of perception on the frequency and severity of mental health issues facing society today.
Issues of mental health should not been seen as different from any other physical ailments, aside from how the sometimes fatal results can be prevented. And honest information is the only way the public can learn from these preventable tragedies when they do occur, especially from families of public figures who are in a unique position to spread awareness about the dangers of certain mental health issues.
As Hunter Montgomery’s grieving mother Tracy Nunan said, “Maybe Hunter’s – and our family’s – pain will help another family avoid this … take our story and use it to help others.”
BEH
October 2, 2015 @ 9:24 am
Very sad. Sad for the parents. Sad for the child who will never know his father.
Kale
October 2, 2015 @ 9:32 am
I’m about as bipolar as you can get, and I seriously thought about faux suicide. I wanted to overdose on my crazy pills and survive, so I could see people upset and know they cared and stuff like that. I didn’t do it because somebody got me sent to a nuthouse on suicide watch for a while. Aside from having to take 2 different kinds of crazy pills every day, I’m good now. So don’t look down on the mentally ill.
Albert
October 2, 2015 @ 9:53 am
As a single father having gone through child custody issues myself , I completely understand the pain this young father must have been trying to cope with . It is indescribably emotional and yes , at times thoughts border on the irrational . I was fortunate in having support ..professionally and otherwise ..which helped me maintain . I cannot imagine the impact the death of your child has on someone and pray I will never experience that . My heart and my sympathies go out to this family .
Kale
October 2, 2015 @ 10:55 am
My father pretty much ditched me and my mom and never paid child support. I’m still considering tracking him and extorting every penny he has. You should feel good that you care enough about your child(ren) and Hunter should take some comfort in knowing that he cared enough to be this upset, because there are plenty of father who don’t give a damn about their kid(s).
Melissa
October 2, 2015 @ 10:31 am
Could not agree more. While I understand the desire for privacy after a tragedy, regardless of cause of death, acting like there’s some kind of stigma involved if it’s a “mental” issue only exacerbates the problem and leads to more tragedies. There’s no cure for depression, etc. but feeling the need to hide it out of shame sure doesn’t help. Openness and understanding are at least a good first step. Very sad story.
CAH
October 2, 2015 @ 10:50 am
Addiction and other mental health issues are pervasive health problems which transcend the full range of the socio-economic spectrum and which impact some pretty fine people, along with some other types.
This is very sad.
I had a very bad drinking problem when I was this young man’s age and, but for the grace of God, I could have suffered the same fate.
Jim McGuinness
October 2, 2015 @ 11:58 am
The suicide death of Honeydogs frontman Adam Levy’s son, Daniel, is the focus of the elder Levy’s soon-to-be-released solo album. Here is Levy with a solo performance of the disc’s title track, preceded by his explanation of the circumstances surrounding the song. Heartbreaking stuff.
https://vimeo.com/122532977
Mike2
October 2, 2015 @ 4:47 pm
This is the second time Eddie Montgomery has lost a son. Just awful.
SKS
October 2, 2015 @ 8:11 pm
I think it is tasteless for unnamed sources to spread rumors, but at the same time, when the truth is known, I agree that the pain that this family has suffered can benefit another family. I don’t want to contribute to the speculation, but whether or not this was from synthetic marijuana, this is a wake up call for everyone.
I work in the medical profession and I have taken care of many, many patients who have suffered serious consquences from synthetic marijuana. Things like suffering from cardiac arrests (heart stopping), being left in a persistent vegetative state (being a vegetable), serious infections, etc. Most of these patients have died. This synthetic marijuana is dangerous crap.
The serious danger needs to be spread to kids and young adults … I am not a fan of drug use in general, but if anyone is going to do marijuana … then use the real thing and not some cooked up mix of chemicals that we really don’t know what it is and what effect it has on the body.
And otherwise lets stop speculating until the facts come in
Chris
October 4, 2015 @ 9:32 am
Synthetic drugs are toxic poison from China. CNN did a special about it:
Deadly High: How Synthetic Drugs Are Killing Kids (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr_j11KuvFg
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/china-feeding-u-s-s-deadly-synthetic-drug-habit/
karl
October 2, 2015 @ 11:38 pm
I didn’t read the whole article, but I wonder why it is so hard to just do as the family asks and respect their privacy. A simple “Rest in Peace” or “Prayers to the Family” should suffice.
Trigger
October 2, 2015 @ 11:43 pm
You should really read the whole article then. This is addressed in great detail.
TX MusicJim
October 3, 2015 @ 3:56 pm
This has got to be unimaginable painful. My heart goes out to the family. So much untreated mental illness and substance use disorder are out there. Don’t worry about stigmatization. Please get help before more tragedies like this one occur!!!
Kim Phillips
October 3, 2015 @ 9:08 pm
Rest in Peace Hunter.. I will continue to pray for Tracy, Eddie and the rest if the family. This is the worst experience any family could go through and may God be with you.
Oh and Eddie,
Thanks for toy that you payed toward and bought for my grandson just yesterday!
May God bless you….
Arlene
October 4, 2015 @ 6:52 am
I couldn’t agree more that there should not be a stigma over mental illness, and we should all work to eliminate that stigma. Where I disagree with you and members of the media is in thinking that there is a legitimate reason to report about a cause of a death before the cause is actually known. Why not simply and accurately note that a cause of death is currently unknown, and a full autopsy, including the results of toxicology tests, are pending, and then STFU until the results of the toxicology tests are officially released? We tell children that just because everyone else is doing something, doesn’t mean you should too. Similarly, just because other members of the media engage in speculation and invade privacy doesn’t mean that it is acceptable behavior to be followed. We can work to eliminate the stigma over mental health issues while STILL respecting people’s privacy and letting them grieve in peace.
Trigger
October 4, 2015 @ 8:30 am
Arlene,
I appreciate your concern, but what you’re claiming I did via the cause of death, is the exact opposite of what I actually did. In fact, I believe Saving Country Music is the only outlet that I know that specifically has gone out of the way to claim that the cause of death is not known, that the autopsy has not been concluded, and that we should not speculate ahead of these things.
Here’s what I wrote verbatim from the article:
“The coroner”™s office in Lexington, Kentucky has concluded the autopsy of Hunter Montgomery, but it will take at least three weeks before the toxicology report comes back and the coroner can determine the official cause of death.
However, even though an official cause of death has yet to be determined, multiple media outlets, including the UPI, Entertainment Tonight, and others are reporting the cause of death for Hunter Montgomery as an overdose, solely based on a statement by the mother, who 24 hours before was completely ruling out an overdose, appears to have redacted her statement, and is clearly distraught over the loss of her son.
The truth is we do not know how Hunter Montgomery died at this moment. Nobody does for sure. Nothing will be conclusive for at least three weeks until the toxicology arrives.
I will say though, this notion that somehow the family would be able to keep the cause of death private is a fantasy. It is mandated by the Freedom of Information Act that no matter what, the cause of death of Hunter Montgomery would be made a matter of public record. The family could spend 10 billion dollars trying to block that information, and they would lose that fight 100 out of 100 times. It is inevitable. We can debate back and forth if this is fair, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. It’s a forgone conclusion. It would be like debating if it’s beneficial to us to have the sun go down earlier in the winter.
But as Hunter Montgomery’s mother said, this instance can be an opportunity for other families to learn from this tragedy, and that is why she came out publicly to say it was an overdose. If this information doesn’t come out, then there’s nothing to learn from. In fact, it’s the opposite of knowledge. It is brushing it under the rug, and the opportunity to possibly prevent such tragedies in the future is lost.
Stranger
October 4, 2015 @ 3:01 pm
Why are you so obsessed with John Hensley? Seriously though, you could be reporting about water on Mars and find a way to mention his death.
Trigger
October 4, 2015 @ 7:11 pm
Or maybe there are astounding parallels between these two stories, including the same coroner’s office working the case, the “accidental” death, and individuals who actively worked to deceive the public that drugs might be involved.
Kelly
October 5, 2015 @ 8:07 am
There are many false parts in this article, including that Tracy found him on Friday. He was found on Wednesday night and taken off life support on Saturday, and died on Sunday. His child was also older than 4 months. Small details like these are why we can’t believe anything the media posts.
Trigger
October 5, 2015 @ 9:08 am
First off, the information about the details of this story come from The Daily Mail, who was linked and cited as the source, and who spoke directly to Hunter Montgomery’s mother, Tracy Nunan. If that information is incorrect, then it needs to be taken up with the Daily Mail. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the information is incorrect, because we now know that Tracy Nunan completely changed her story 24 hours after the Daily Mail story was posted. So let’s not act like it’s the media who only gets things wrong. Sometimes they do. As I explained above, many media outlets are reporting Hunter’s death as a drug overdose when that has yet to be determined. But if the source of the information is incorrect, then this could cause the media to be incorrect too.
Also, nothing in this story says when Hunter was taken off of life support. As for the child’s age, if that is incorrect, then what is the correct age? Perhaps the child was 4 months old when the couple split, and that’s where the age discrepancy came in. As for the incident happening on Friday, that is because that was the first mention of Hunter being in the hospital by the family. That part of this story has been edited to hopefully alleviate any confusion.
Yes, all of these things are small details that really have little to do with the major question and concern by the public: Did Hunter die of a drug overdose? And when the information is conclusively released by the corner, no matter what that information is, someone will refute it because the age of the son was wrong, or because they didn’t explain how he was taken off of life support on Saturday, or some other ancillary detail. And the wisdom than can be derived from Hunter’s passing will be lost on those people.
Acca Dacca
October 5, 2015 @ 9:32 am
Say what you will about Mongomery Gentry’s music past or present, but Eddie’s had a freaking hard life. Harder than anyone should have to have. His father passed away from prostate cancer in the mid-90s. HE got prostate cancer some years later. His wife left him. Now he’s lost both kids. Not to mention the fact that his brother John Michael Montgomery has had troubles with alcohol over the years, which I’m sure has caused him distress as well. Damn.