Mary Kennedy had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in July 2010.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, and wife Mary Richardson Kennedy, are seen in this 2009 photo.BEDFORD, N.Y. – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s estranged wife, Mary Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her home Wednesday.
Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had represented her in a drunken-driving case, said he didn’t know the cause of her death at age 52.
Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn’t release the dead person’s name.
Westchester county executive’s office spokesman Ned McCormack, however, confirmed that the body was that of Mary Kennedy. He said the medical examiner has taken Kennedy's body to an office in nearby Valhalla, but said he couldn't say anything about the cause of death until the autopsy.
Mary Kennedy’s family cited her devotion to her four children in remembering her.
“We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her,” the family said in a statement issued by Lawrence. “Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation.”
Kennedy was the second wife of Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, both assassinated in the 1960s. They married in 1994.
Mary Kennedy had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in July 2010.
She was charged that August with driving under the influence of drugs, not long after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving when police reported her seeing her car hit a curb outside a school near her home. Police said she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Her license was suspended.
Her nephew by marriage, Joseph P. Kennedy III, is running for the seat in Congress currently held by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.