Country Singer Kills Himself After Child Sex Arrest

A country singer facing child sex charges in two states killed himself after missing a court appearance Friday. Daniel Lee Martin, once considered one of country music's rising stars, was first arrested in 2018 in Tennessee, where he was accused of abusing three victims under 13, the Tennessean reports. He was arrested on similar charges in Florida last month, which prompted authorities in Tennessee to order him to appear at a hearing on revoking his pre-trial release. When he failed to show up for that hearing Friday, Tennessee authorities notified their counterparts in Pasco County, Fla., who found the 54-year-old dead in his New Port Richey home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police say Martin had made threats to harm himself and others before officers arrived at his home, where a SWAT team broke in after he failed to answer the door, reports the Tampa Bay Times. He had been due to stand trial in Tennessee, where he is accused of abusing the three children between 2014 and 2018, in March. Martin achieved modest success after moving from Florida to Nashville in the late 1990s to pursue his country music ambitions. He also starred in the reality shows Brotherhood Outdoors and Backstage and Backroads on the Sportsman Channel, and Till Death Do Us Part on CarbonTV. (More country music stories.)