Why A Mom Left A Fake Suicide Message For Her Daughter

Haleigh, 20, recalls being woken up by sheriff’s deputies banging on her front door, telling her their family was being evicted. She then checked her voicemail, where her mom, Christi, had left a message.

"She told me, 'This is the last time that you're going to hear from me,'” Haleigh says. “I lost it. I couldn't even get up off the floor. My mom just killed herself.”

Police found Christi's car crashed on the side of the road with empty vodka bottles and a noose in it, but there was no body, explains Heather, Haleigh’s sister. About four months later, Heather continues, she got a call from [a mental health facility] in North Carolina. "When I realized that my mom had faked the suicide, I told the asylum not to contact me again," says Heather.

"After the suicide and even up until now, my mom says, 'I tried to kill myself because of you, Heather,'" Heather says in the video above. Watch as her mom -- a former Emmy-winning TV reporter who spiraled downward after becoming addicted to pills -- attempts to explain her behavior.

Dr. Phil tries to help this family move forward on Monday's show -- watch more here.