Aaron Carter’s Sister Leslie Also Died Under Tragic Circumstances

The music world was rocked by the death of pop star Aaron Carter this weekend, forcing some to reflect on the tragic death of his older sister, Leslie. Leslie Carter followed her older brother Nick Carter into the music industry in the early-2000s, but she passed away in January of 2012 at the age of 25. Her death also contributed to the rift within the Carter family in the years that followed.

Leslie was the second child of Jane and Robert Carter, following Backstreet Boys singer Nick and preceding twins Aaron and Angel Carter. As her family’s success grew, Leslie signed a deal with DreamWorks Records in 1999 at the age of 13. Her single “Like Wow!” appeared on the Shrek soundtrack and received some radio airplay, but her album was ultimately canceled. She made a comeback later in 2005, which led to the formation of her band The Other Half.

Sadly, along the way Leslie suffered from depression, addiction and other mental illness much like her younger brother Aaron. Much of the publicly-available information on those battles came from Aaron himself, but fans are hesitant to take it at face value since Aaron may have been in the throes of addiction himself by then. Some of Aaron’s accounts have also been disputed by his other family members.

Leslie was at the home of her father and her stepmother in Mayville, New York when she passed away on Jan. 31, 2012. She had reportedly complained of feeling ill and had fallen in the shower, then abruptly went to sleep. She did not wake up, and although she was rushed to the local hospital she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Local authorities noted that Leslie had been taking three prescription medications at the time of her death – a muscle relaxant, an anti-anxiety medicine and an antipsychotic. Their incident report included an “overdose follow up” form, but overdose was not attributed as a cause of death.

Leslie was laid to rest quietly and privately, but in the years that followed details of the family tension leaked out slowly. In 2013, Nick Carter told Dr. Phil McGraw on air that he had not attended Leslie’s funeral because he felt that his family blamed him for her death. He said that his relationship with his four remaining siblings “has been toxic,” blaming their involvement in reality TV for some of the communication issues between them.

Aaron Carter spoke about Leslie often in the last four years or so on social media and in interviews. The later pop star struggled very publicly with drug addiction but also worked on his recovery in the public eye. So far, his cause of death has not been announced publicly.