When country legend Naomi Judd died at the end of April, the statement from her daughters Wynonna and Ashley included the line, “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” Now Ashley has provided further details about her mother’s death.

In an interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America today, Ashley revealed Naomi died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She said her sister Wynonna and their stepfather had deputized her to share the information so that it would not emerge as a news leak. “Because we don’t want it to be a part of the gossip economy, I will share with you that she used a weapon,” Ashley told Sawyer on GMA. “My mother used a firearm. So that’s the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing, but understand that we’re in a position that if we don’t say it someone else is going to.”

Ashley also spoke of the trauma she feels from discovering her mother’s dead body, and she encouraged those struggling with suicidal ideation to reach out for help. “My mother is entitled to her dignity and her privacy, so there are some things that we would just like to retain as a family. And so I want to be very careful when we talk about this today that for anyone who is having those ideas or those impulses, to talk to someone, to share, to be open, to be vulnerable.” She also directed viewers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and she read a letter from her sister Wynonna. The interview can be viewed here.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273–8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org to chat with someone online.