Mary Richardson Kennedy, 52, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was found dead at the couple's home in Bedford, N.Y. No cause of death was given, but she reportedly took her own life by hanging. NBC's Jeff Rossen reports.
By msnbc.com and NBC News
Mary Richardson Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has died in an apparent suicide, law enforcement sources told NBC News. The 52-year-old was found dead in her home in Westchester County, N.Y. on Wednesday; sources told The New York Times she had hanged herself.
An autopsy is set to be performed Thursday, NBC's Jeff Rossen reported. Two people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times her body was found hanging in a barn behind her Bedford, N.Y., house, and that she had left a note.
Authorities who responded to the scene cut her down and tried unsuccessfully to revive her, said The Times.
Kennedy, a mother of four, separated from her husband two years ago. At the time, she was battling drug and alcohol addictions, according to NBC. In May 2010, she was arrested for a DUI.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer, has been touched by tragedy before. When he was 9, his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. Five years later, his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was also assassinated. Years later, his brother David would die of a drug overdose; another brother, Michael, would be killed in a ski accident. His cousin, John F. Kennedy, Jr., died in a plane crash in 1999, and three years ago, his uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, died from cancer.
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"We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her," the Kennedy family said in a statement on Wednesday. "Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation."
"We have no further comment at this time."
The family statement said Kennedy was a co-founder of the Food Allergy Initiative, saying contributions may be made in her name.
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