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Alicia Witt breaks silence a month after her parents were found dead

Alicia Witt breaks silence a month after her parents were found dead 2

Alicia Witt has broken her silence after the shocking death of her parents who were found dead inside their run-down home in Massachusetts a month ago.

‘It still doesn’t feel real,’ the redheaded actress began her Facebook note as she shared she loved her parents and is now heartbroken.

The star then said that a detective had told her over the phone that her parents were found dead after she had placed a welfare call when she became concerned she had not heard back from them.

In her long note Witt noted that her parents were not ‘penniless’ and she had tried several times to help them out but they would not let her. 

And the Hollywood favorite shared that she had not been allowed in their house for ‘well over 10 years.’

The elderly couple were suspected to have died from hypothermia as one of them had a coat on. But their health had been in decline for a while as her father Robert Witt, 87, was fighting cancer and her mother Diane Witt, 75, had Parkinson’s Disease.

A very sad loss: Alicia Witt has broken her silence after the shocking death of her parents who were found dead inside their home in Massachusetts a month ago

A very sad loss: Alicia Witt has broken her silence after the shocking death of her parents who were found dead inside their home in Massachusetts a month ago

On one of her TV shows: Witt in hit horror television series The Walking Dead for season six

On one of her TV shows: Witt in hit horror television series The Walking Dead for season six

Witt also shared several throwback photos with her parents.

‘They were brilliant educators, deeply kind, curious, intuitive, wise, young at heart, funny – there will never be enough adjectives to describe them,’ she said of her parents.

Witt also turned her attention to the stories that have come out. 

‘The circumstances around my parents’ sudden passings have become fodder for press, and there are some misconceptions rolling around – understandably so,’ she wrote.

‘This is very delicate for me to write because I’m wanting to honor their privacy, which they held so tightly.

Heart is broken: 'It still doesn’t feel real,' the redheaded actress began her Facebook note

Heart is broken: ‘It still doesn’t feel real,’ the redheaded actress began her Facebook note

‘There’s an awful irony in the fact that, because of the very lengths they went to in order to protect their privacy in life – that privacy has been stripped away in death.’

She said she never imagined she would have to talk about this publicly – much less, amidst overwhelming floods of grief.

Alicia said that she had not been allowed inside her parents’ home for ‘well over a decade.’

And she shared that ‘every time I offered to have something repaired for them, they refused to allow workers into their house.’

She explained that she ‘begged, cried, tried to reason with them, tried to convince them to let me help them move – but every time, they became furious with me, telling me I had no right to tell them how to live their lives and that they had it all under control.’

Witt added: ‘It was not for a lack of trying on my part, or the part of other people who loved them.’

She found out on the phone: 'It’s been a month since I got scared, not having heard back from them, and called to have them checked on. Waiting, phone in hand, praying fervently that the next call would be from them, angry I'd gotten someone else involved. Knowing as soon as I heard the detective’s voice on the other line that they were gone'

She found out on the phone: ‘It’s been a month since I got scared, not having heard back from them, and called to have them checked on. Waiting, phone in hand, praying fervently that the next call would be from them, angry I’d gotten someone else involved. Knowing as soon as I heard the detective’s voice on the other line that they were gone’

She then delved into the circumstances of their personal lives. 

‘My parents were not penniless. they were fiercely stubborn, beautifully original souls, and with that, they made choices – choices that I couldn’t talk them out of. I did help them, in all the ways i could – in all the ways they would let me,’ she noted.

When they were found, it was noted that their house was ‘dilapidated’ and that they had not fixed their furnace. 

Alicia said that she ‘struggles’ and as much as she helped, ‘what else could I have done,’ she asked.

‘Short of petitioning the court system for taking control of two otherwise very sharp, very independent, very capable adults. They were a united, intertwined, indivisible force, determined to do things their own way. knowing they had each other – battling them the way I would have had to in order to do this truly felt like it would have destroyed them,’ noted Witt.

They did not take her help: She also noted that her parents were not 'penniless' and she had tried several times to help them out but they would not let her. And she shared that she had not been in their house for 10 years

They did not take her help: She also noted that her parents were not ‘penniless’ and she had tried several times to help them out but they would not let her. And she shared that she had not been in their house for 10 years

They were not well: The elderly couple were suspected to have died from hypothermia as one of them had a coat on. But their health had been in decline for a while as her father Robert Witt, 87, was fighting cancer and her mother Diane Witt, 75, had Parkinson's Disease

They were not well: The elderly couple were suspected to have died from hypothermia as one of them had a coat on. But their health had been in decline for a while as her father Robert Witt, 87, was fighting cancer and her mother Diane Witt, 75, had Parkinson’s Disease

The end: Her note then said she knew she would never hear the voices of her parents again and she would look for them in a 'breeze, in a song, in a dream'

The end: Her note then said she knew she would never hear the voices of her parents again and she would look for them in a ‘breeze, in a song, in a dream’

 She also said that she had ‘no idea’ that their heat had gone out. 

‘I will never understand how or why they made the choice not to tell me this, not to let me help them with this,’ she said before adding her heart was broken.

She then shared that even if she could have had a crystal ball and looked into the future, and if she could have said to them ‘you are going to break my heart and the hearts of all who love you with a worst-case-scenario ending if you don’t let us help you’ – she thinks they still would have made the same choices.

‘They weren’t willing to make different ones,’ she said.

Alicia said that her last words to her parents were ‘I love you.’

‘That part was simple; never in doubt. They loved me so. I loved them so,’ she ended her Facebook note, which was also partially shared on Instagram.      

They were that way: She then delved into the circumstances of their personal lives. 'My parents were not penniless. they were fiercely stubborn, beautifully original souls, and with that, they made choices - choices that I couldn’t talk them out of. I did help them, in all the ways i could - in all the ways they would let me,' she noted

They were that way: She then delved into the circumstances of their personal lives. ‘My parents were not penniless. they were fiercely stubborn, beautifully original souls, and with that, they made choices – choices that I couldn’t talk them out of. I did help them, in all the ways i could – in all the ways they would let me,’ she noted

Also in her note said she knew she would never hear the voices of her parents again and she would look for them in a ‘breeze, in a song, in a dream.’

Alicia added that she was ‘deeply grateful for the gift of having been able to quietly travel to Worcester earlier this month for a beautiful service and burial, to mourn and to celebrate them in total privacy.’

And she said that she would be forever be indebted to Mercadante Funeral Home for going to great lengths to make this possible.

‘Thank you, also, to all those who have reached out with your memories about my parents.,’ said the Sopranos star.

Authorities suspect that the elderly and ailing parents of Dune and The Walking Dead actress Witt may have died of hypothermia after their lifeless bodies – one of them clad in a coat – were found inside their Massachusetts home in late December, just before Christmas. 

She had her privacy: Alicia added that she was 'deeply grateful for the gift of having been able to quietly travel to Worcester earlier this month for a beautiful service and burial, to mourn and to celebrate them in total privacy'

She had her privacy: Alicia added that she was ‘deeply grateful for the gift of having been able to quietly travel to Worcester earlier this month for a beautiful service and burial, to mourn and to celebrate them in total privacy’

The fans have been kind: And she said that she would be forever be indebted to Mercadante Funeral Home for going to great lengths to make this possible. 'Thank you, also, to all those who have reached out with your memories about my parents.,' said the Sopranos star

The fans have been kind: And she said that she would be forever be indebted to Mercadante Funeral Home for going to great lengths to make this possible. ‘Thank you, also, to all those who have reached out with your memories about my parents.,’ said the Sopranos star

Robert Witt, 87, and Diane Witt, 75, were discovered unresponsive after their 46-year-old daughter asked a relative to perform a welfare check on them because she was unable to reach them. 

Police said they had received reports that Witt’s parents had been experiencing ‘furnace problems’ and were using a space heater to heat their dilapidated home, according to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. 

Investigators tell Boston 25 they now believe that hypothermia – a dangerous drop in body temperature caused by a prolonged exposure to cold – possibly played a role in the couple’s deaths.

One of the parents was said to have been discovered wearing a coat indoors. No obvious signs of trauma were found on the bodies, and no traces of poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide were detected during a subsequent inspection. 

‘There were no signs of foul play. It is under investigation,’ police said after the bodies were found in the Sussex Lane home.

She was left out: When they were found, it was noted that their house was 'dilapidated' and that they had not fixed their furnace. Alicia said that she 'struggles' and as much as she helped, 'what else could I have done,' she asked

She was left out: When they were found, it was noted that their house was ‘dilapidated’ and that they had not fixed their furnace. Alicia said that she ‘struggles’ and as much as she helped, ‘what else could I have done,’ she asked

A relative found the bodies at their home in Worcester (pictured). One of the parents was said to have been clad in a coat indoors

A relative found the bodies at their home in Worcester (pictured). One of the parents was said to have been clad in a coat indoors 

A neighbor told Boston 25 that Robert Witt had cancer, while wife Diane had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. 

‘She was a frail little thing, a good wind would blow her away,’ the neighbor told the outlet.  

The same neighbor said that Alicia was involved in her parents’ lives, and whenever she would be in the area, she would send a car to pick them up. When one of the actress’ films was on TV, Robert and Diane would come over to the neighbor’s house to watch it because ‘they didn’t have a color TV,’ she said.  

The grieving actress released a statement Tuesday. 

‘I reached out to a cousin who lives close to my parents to check on them. Sadly, the outcome was unimaginable,’ Witt said.

‘I ask for some privacy at this time to grieve and to wrap my head around this turn of events, and this surreal loss.’ 

The couple, pictured, had been described by a neighbor as having been ill for 'some time,' and were using a space heater to heat their home after experiencing 'furnace problems'

The couple, pictured, had been described by a neighbor as having been ill for ‘some time,’ and were using a space heater to heat their home after experiencing ‘furnace problems’

Witt in the 1984 David Lynch film Dune, after being discovered by the film director at the age of eight

Witt in the 1984 David Lynch film Dune, after being discovered by the film director at the age of eight

Firefighters who responded to the scene reportedly checked the air quality inside the residence and detected no noxious gases. 

‘There were no signs of carbon monoxide,’ Worcester Fire Chief Deputy Adam Roche said.

Authorities have yet to confirm the exact cause of death. An autopsy was conducted. 

‘I can confirm that police were dispatched to the residence and discovered a male and a female deceased,’ Worcester Police Lt. Sean Murtha said. 

Witt with her father, Robert Witt, 87, pictured left

Witt with her mother, Diane Witt, 75, pictured right

Witt with her father, Robert Witt, 87, pictured left, and mother, Diane Witt, 75, pictured right

The couple had lived in Worcester, about 50 miles east of Boston, for decades, according to reports. 

Their daughter began her career at the age of eight after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in his version of the sci-fi classic Dune in 1984 and an episode of Twin Peaks.

Witt went on to appear in a number of hit television series, including the Sopranos, Two and a Half Men, The Walking Dead, and Orange is the New Black.   

Witt is also a pianist and made her stage debut in Los Angeles in 2001. 

ALICIA WITT’S ENTIRE NOTE 

 

it still doesn’t feel real.

it’s been a month since i got scared, not having heard back from them, and called to have them checked on. waiting, phone in hand, praying fervently that the next call would be from them, angry i’d gotten someone else involved. knowing as soon as i heard the detective’s voice on the other line that they were gone. knowing i would never hear their voices again. beginning the rest of my life of finding them on the breeze, in a song, in a dream.

i am deeply grateful for the gift of having been able to quietly travel to Worcester earlier this month for a beautiful service and burial, to mourn and to celebrate them in total privacy. i will forever be indebted to Mercadente Funeral Home for going to great lengths to make this possible.

thank you, also, to all those who have reached out with your memories about my parents. they were brilliant educators, deeply kind, curious, intuitive, wise, young at heart, funny – there will never be enough adjectives to describe them.

the circumstances around my parents’ sudden passings have become fodder for press, and there are some misconceptions rolling around – understandably so. this is very delicate for me to write because i’m wanting to honor their privacy, which they held so tightly. there’s an awful irony in the fact that, because of the very lengths they went to in order to protect their privacy in life – that privacy has been stripped away in death. i never imagined i would have to talk about this publicly – much less, amidst overwhelming floods of grief.

i hadn’t been allowed inside my parents’ home for well over a decade; every time i offered to have something repaired for them, they refused to allow workers into their house. i begged, cried, tried to reason with them, tried to convince them to let me help them move – but every time, they became furious with me, telling me i had no right to tell them how to live their lives and that they had it all under control. it was not for a lack of trying on my part, or the part of other people who loved them.

my parents were not penniless. they were fiercely stubborn, beautifully original souls, and with that, they made choices – choices that i couldn’t talk them out of. i did help them, in all the ways i could – in all the ways they would let me.

i struggle, as much as i helped, with what else could i have done – short of petitioning the court system for taking control of two otherwise very sharp, very independent, very capable adults. they were a united, intertwined, indivisible force, determined to do things their own way. knowing they had each other – battling them the way i would have had to in order to do this truly felt like it would have destroyed them.

i had no idea that their heat had gone out. i will never understand how or why they made the choice not to tell me this, not to let me help them with this. my heart is broken.

and even if i could have had a crystal ball and looked into the future- if i could have said to them ‘you are going to break my heart and the hearts of all who love you with a worst-case-scenario ending if you don’t let us help you’ – i still think they would have made the same choices. they weren’t willing to make different ones.

our last words to each other were ‘i love you’. that part was simple; never in doubt. they loved me so. i loved them so.

 

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