A staggering loss. Actress Alicia Witt announced that her parents were found dead unexpectedly after a relative performed a welfare check on them at their home.
“I reached out to a cousin who lives close to my parents to check on them. Sadly, the outcome was unimaginable,” the Walking Dead alum, 46, said in a statement released on Tuesday, December 21. “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 Dune actress asked the family member to check on her mother, Diane Witt, and her father, Robert Witt, at their Worcester, Massachusetts, home on Monday, December 20, after she didn’t hear from them for “several days.”
According to local newspaper Telegram & Gazette, Alicia’s relative called the police to ask for assistance in checking on the Witts. Once officers entered the house, they found the couple deceased but discovered no obvious causes of death. The police listed Robert’s age as 87 and Diane’s as 75.
“There was no trauma,” Lieutenant Sean Murtha said in a statement.
The fire department also visited the residence to check on the home’s air quality, but firefighters found no evidence of carbon monoxide or other dangerous gases. Police noted that the Massachusetts medical examiner will perform autopsies to determine the Witts’ cause of death.
Alicia, who has appeared in many movies and TV series over the years, occasionally shared photos of her parents via social media. “To my amazing dad, the wise and hilarious and always curious one, the greatest teacher, and the OG Witty,” the former Orange Is the New Black star wrote via Instagram in June for Father’s Day. “I am deeply blessed in the dad department and i know that every single day.”
In 2018, the singer-songwriter paid tribute to her mom with a similar post for Mother’s Day, sharing several photos of the duo hanging out in Nashville, Tennessee. “#HappyMothersDay to all the mothers of this world,” Alicia wrote via Instagram at the time. “Thank you for bringing us into this place and for all that you do, every day, without even thinking twice. here is my beautiful mom when she came to visit me in #nashville two years ago.”
Though her daughter is now the most famous member of the family, Diane once gained notoriety as the Guinness World Record holder for the longest hair. She held the record from 1989 to 1996, with her hair measuring more than 12 feet long at one point.