NAOMI Judd’s troubled granddaughter Grace Kelley has not been released from prison for the beloved singer’s funeral services.
Naomi passed away at age 76 on April 30 from a mental illness, according to her daughters Wynonna and Ashley.
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With funeral services set to take place on Monday, The Sun can exclusively reveal Naomi’s granddaughter will not be in attendance.
Grace, 25, was arrested on August 28, 2021 for a probation violation and was held in Williamson County Jail in Tennessee.
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.
Inmates may be released for funeral services on a case by case basis.
Grace is currently being held in Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, a prison for female inmates located in Nashville, Tennessee.
When Grace was arrested, she debuted dyed black hair and a new face tattoo above her eyebrow.
The mugshot is a contrast to her past booking photos, as she sported blonde or light brown locks.
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Board of Parole previously confirmed to The Sun that her parole was revoked on December 20, 2021, following the arrest.
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She has a review parole hearing set for December 2022.
The Tennessee Department of Correction lists her release date as April 1, 2024.
PAROLE RELEASE
As The Sun previously reported, Grace was arrested back on April 30, 2020, for a probation violation in her 2016 meth case, and was sentenced to eight years behind bars.
She was granted parole at her April 19, 2021 hearing and released, as she was ordered to report to the Murfreesboro Probation and Parole Office.
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Board of Parole previously told The Sun of her hearing: “The Board reached a final decision on April 22, 2021, recommending releasing her to parole supervision with post-release conditions.”
The conditions included substance abuse treatment, substance abuse aftercare referral and random drug screens.
The spokesperson explained: “Her home plan will need to be approved by Tennessee Department of Corrections, then a parole certificate will be issued and then Tennessee Department of Corrections will manage her release back to the community.”
METH BUST
The legal trouble started when Grace was arrested on June 14, 2016, and pleaded guilty to meth manufacture, delivery, sale and possession with intent on May 26, 2017, in Williamson County Court in Tennessee.
She was also charged with manufacturing and delivering meth in Maury County and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of possession of meth.
Grace was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail, which was suspended. The Williamson County and Maury County charges ran concurrently with each other.
The sentence was to be served on probation after completing 30 days behind bars.
Grace was released from Williamson County Detention Center on June 16, 2017, and she continued her sentence at a court-ordered drug program.
She was then sentenced to eight years at West Tennessee State Penitentiary in 2018 for breaking probation when she absconded from the 21st recovery court program.
Grace was released from prison five years early on November 8, 2019, after she was granted parole in the eight-year sentence.
‘STRONGEST JUDD WOMAN’
Wynonna, 57, opened up about her daughter’s legal troubles in February 2020.
She said on The Pursuit! with John Rich: “I will tell you this. My daughter is the strongest Judd woman in our ‘herstory.’
“She’s healthier than I was at 23. How she got there – I would not go that way, but I was also sequestered.”
She continued growing up on a tour bus with her mom, Naomi Judd: “I was on a bus with my mother. Kind of hard to get in trouble. That could have been me if I didn’t have music.”
Wynonna and Grace have had a rocky relationship through the years.
In 2013, Wynonna’s actress sister Ashley, 54, obtained temporary custody of Grace.
Wynonna is also mom to son Elijah, 27, with ex-husband Arch Kelley.
HONORING A LEGEND
On Sunday night, The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Wynonna and Ashley attended the ceremony despite the sad passing, as they accepted the honor on behalf of the late country singer.
Wynonna, who performed with her mother as the singing duo, The Judds, said: “I didn’t prepare anything tonight because I knew mom would probably talk the most.
“I’m gonna make this fast, because my heart’s broken, and I feel so blessed. It’s a very strange dynamic, to be this broken and this blessed.”
Wynonna’s actress sister Ashley added: “My mama loved you so much and she appreciated your love for her. I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today.
“Your esteem for her and your regard for her really penetrated her heart, and it was your affection for her that did keep her going in these last years.”
SAD PASSING
Wynonna and Ashley shared their mother’s passing over Twitter on Saturday, as they wrote: “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.”
The statement did not elaborate further on her cause of death.
The announcement came the day before The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony.
The mother-daughter performers scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decades.
After rising to the top of country music, they called it quits in 1991 after Naomi was diagnosed with hepatitis.
The Judds’ hits included Love Can Build a Bridge in 1990, Mama He’s Crazy in 1984, Why Not Me in 1984, Turn It Loose in 1988, Girls Night Out in 1985, Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain in 1986 and Grandpa in 1986.
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