Mindy McCready and David Wilson
Courtesy Mindy McCready
In an emergency hearing on Wednesday, a judge ordered McCready to be committed to a treatment facility to cope with mental health and alcohol issues. During the hearing, McCready, 37, admitted to drinking too much alcohol, blaming her overindulgence on her grief at Wilson's death.
McCready's two children – Zander, 6, and Zayne, 9 months – have been removed from her home and are currently in foster care.
Zayne's father was David Wilson. Zander's father is singer Billy McKnight.
It's not the first time that trouble has found McCready, who has a long history of drug abuse, arrests, rehab and suicide attempts.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Billy McKnight calls the latest development "devastating" and is trying to gain sole custody of his son. McKnight acknowledges that he has faced his own personal demons. He battled substance abuse, and was arrested and charged with attempted murder in 2005 after a physical altercation with McCready.
Despite his difficult past, McKnight, 46, says it's all behind him. "I've been sober for years," he says. "All those problems ended when Mindy and I split up. I have been doing everything right. I'm gainfully employed, doing well in my career. I am clean. I live in a gated community. I can provide for Zander and give him stability."
McKnight has a lawyer and will be heading to Arkansas. "I'm going to fight for my son," he says. "I can't even talk to him and ask him how he's doing, because the Arkansas courts took Mindy's word that I was dangerous. It's time for me to fight for Zander's best interest. I want my son back."
McCready could be in treatment for up to 21 days. Meanwhile, authorities in Cleburne County, Ark., are investigating the circumstances surrounding David Wilson's death.
Although initial media reports claimed that Wilson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police have not yet ruled the case a suicide. (A source in the Sheriff's office tells PEOPLE that investigators are awaiting autopsy, ballistic and toxicology reports to determine how, exactly, Wilson died.)
McCready has neither been named nor cleared as a suspect in Wilson's death.
McCready's rep did not immediately return calls and emails for comment.
Mindy McCready Committed to Treatment Facility
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Mindy McCready Committed to Treatment Facility
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Mindy McCready Committed to Treatment Facility
