Alabama attorney-general pays tribute to his wife who shot herself dead

Alabama Attorney-General Steve Marshall broke down in tears as he revealed his wife suffered from drug addiction and mental illness before her suicide on Sunday.

Bridgette Marshall was found in her apartment in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with a self-inflicted gunshot found to the head and police listed her death as suicide.

An emotional Mr Marshall wondered if his wife of more than 20 years would still be alive if he had turned down his appointment in February 2017.

Alabama Attorney-General Steve Marshall sobbed throughout a 21-minute press conference at his church on Wednesday as he spoke about his wife’s suicide

Mr Marshall said his wife Bridgette (left, pictured with daughter Faith) suffered from drug addiction and mental illness before her suicide on Sunday

Mr Marshall said his wife Bridgette (left, pictured with daughter Faith) suffered from drug addiction and mental illness before her suicide on Sunday

Mr Marshall sobbed throughout a 21-minute press conference at his church on Wednesday, surrounded by his 20-year-old daughter Faith and other family.

‘It’s tough, it’s tough,’ he began before detailing his wife’s health issues dating back to her childhood when she suffered intense migraines.

‘She’d come home and spend days in dark rooms trying to get over the pain, but it didn’t got away. Nothing helped,’ he said.

The migraines led to an addition to the hydrocodone and fentanyl used to treat them, and she ‘didn’t completely embrace recovery’ after a stint in rehab.

Mr Marshall said she also showed early signs of mental illness and during their marriage was diagnosed with a ‘depressive disorder’ and anxiety.

Her family once had her committed for treatment when she refused to go, and on later occasions convinced her to seek further inpatient help. 

Bridgette Marshall was found in her apartment in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with a self-inflicted gunshot found to the head and police listed her death as suicide

Bridgette Marshall was found in her apartment in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with a self-inflicted gunshot found to the head and police listed her death as suicide

Ms Marshall also had another unspecified health issue that meant she had to be fed through a feeding tube for months up to the time of her death.

Being in the public after her husband’s appointment made Ms Marshall more anxious to the point she felt like everyone was watching her.

‘It’s not a sign of weakness, let’s make that clear. Nobody wants to be mentally ill,’ Mr Marshall said. 

Eventually she felt she couldn’t be in the state any longer and rented an apartment in a complex her family didn’t even know the location of until May, but spoke on the phone with Mr Marshall every day.

‘[She left] not because she didn’t love her family and love her husband, but because of the way she perceived her life, that was her only option,’ her husband said. 

Ms Marshall came to Alabama to be with her family at the primary election on June 5 and her birthday the next day and seemed filled with ‘joy’.

‘She was as happy as I had seen her in a long time,’ he said. 

An emotional Mr Marshall wondered if his wife of more than 20 years would still be alive if he had turned down his appointment (pictured) in February 2017

An emotional Mr Marshall wondered if his wife of more than 20 years would still be alive if he had turned down his appointment (pictured) in February 2017

However, soon after ‘something changed, we don’t know what’ and she began to complain about her stomach and talk about suicide.

The day before she died, unexplained blisters showed up on her feet and none of her family could work out what was wrong.

‘Her parents talked to her and I talked to her and we convinced her to go to the hospital the next day. And she said she would go,’ Mr Marshall said. 

Mr Marshall planned to pick his wife up on Sunday morning and drive her to the hospital, but then she told her parents ‘I won’t be alive when you get here’.

‘I got on the phone with her and I was talking to a person who didn’t have any hope,’ He recalled.

Mr Marshall detailed health issues dating back to her childhood when she suffered from intense migraines

Mr Marshall detailed health issues dating back to her childhood when she suffered from intense migraines

Mr Marshall said she also showed early signs of mental illness and during their marriage was diagnosed with a 'depressive disorder' and anxiety

Mr Marshall said she also showed early signs of mental illness and during their marriage was diagnosed with a ‘depressive disorder’ and anxiety

She told him: ‘I don’t have any purpose and I’m tired. My body’s failing me and I don’t know why. I’ve had pain for a long time and I don’t want to endure it anymore and I’m just a burden.’

Mr Marshall tried to convince her she wasn’t a burden and was loved by her family, but it didn’t seem to work.

‘As a guy who, professionally, is supposed to be able to convince people with words to do something, I couldn’t reach her,’ he said.

‘She said “I’m tired of being tired. And I just want to go”. And she said “do you want to hear it?” And I said “no, I don’t”. And she hung up the phone.’

Mr Marshall and other relatives called police and officers found her lying dead on the couch inside the apartment sometime after 7.46am.

‘I continued to call her phone and she didn’t answer. And then we learned she had died from a gunshot wound in that apartment. And our lives changed. They changed forever,’ Mr Marshall said.

‘For me, I wonder whether or not if I wasn’t attorney general, would she still be alive?’ he said. 

Mr Marshall planned to pick his wife up on Sunday morning and drive her to the hospital, but then she told her parents 'I won't be alive when you get here'

Mr Marshall planned to pick his wife up on Sunday morning and drive her to the hospital, but then she told her parents ‘I won’t be alive when you get here’

‘Whether I hadn’t chosen public service, would she still be here today? And I’ll be haunted by that for the rest of my life.

‘I hope some day to be able to forget that conversation we had that Sunday morning and remember what she did for others.’ 

Mr Marshall ended the press conference by reading a note Ms Marshall left for him after the election, where he gained the most votes for reelection.

‘Steve, I knew you would pull this off. It was a great birthday gift I knew was coming. You are the man for the job in Alabama,’ the note read.

‘I love you more than you will ever know and couldn’t be more proud how you handled it all as you always do with grace. I love you. Love, Bridgette.’

Mr Marshall added: ‘That is the woman I will celebrate this week. That is the life I will share with others. And that is the life I will remember.’

For confidential support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255



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