Wynonna Judd’s Incarcerated Daughter Not Released To Attend Naomi Judd’s Funeral

Wynonna Judd / Instagram

On Saturday April 30th, Wynonna Judd and her sister, actress Ashley Judd announced on social media that their beloved mother, Naomi Judd, had passed away. As most know, Wynonna and Naomi make up award-winning mother-daughter country duo The Judds.

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory,” their joint statement read.

Naomi’s death comes almost three weeks after Naomi and Wynonna’s first televised performance in almost 20 years at the CMT Music Awards. They performed their hit song “Love Can Build A Bridge.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1Smd25IFck

On April 11th, the Grammy-winning duo announced their Final Tour, with supporting act Martina McBride, beginning on September 30th

The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday (May 1), with Ashley and Wynonna in attendance. Ashley tearfully said, “I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today.”

 

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According to multiple reports, Naomi’s funeral is set to be held on Monday (May 2). While we’re sure the entire Judd extended family will be in attendance, there is one person close to Naomi who will not be in attendance, her granddaughter Grace.

Grace is Wynnona’s daughter with her ex-husband Arch Kelley. They also share a son, Elijah. Grace has quite the rap sheet.

In 2018, when Grace was 22, she was arrested and sentenced to 8 years in prison for not completing a “court-mandated drug recovery program and violating her probation,” which stemmed from an arrest the year prior.

PEOPLE reported that in May 2017, Grace “pled guilty to meth manufacture, delivery, sale and possession with intent in Williamson County Court. She was also charged with manufacturing and delivering meth in nearby Maury County but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of possession of meth.”

She was granted parole at an October 15, 2019 hearing, but booked again on April 30, 2020 for violating parole. She was once again granted parole at an April 19, 2021 hearing. Though she was granted parole, she would still be in custody at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. She will also have to go through substance abuse treatment, substance abuse aftercare referral and random drug screens.

To this day, she remains at Debra K. Johnson, a prison that houses “female offenders with custody levels ranging from minimum to maximum,” according to their website. The Sun has all the details.

The publication also reports that “A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections exclusively confirmed to The Sun that Grace has not been released from the prison following the family death.”

We will keep the entire family in our thoughts during this difficult time.