Baskets Actor Hagen Mills Dead At 29 In Attempted Murder-Suicide
Baskets actor Hagen Mills died on May 19, 2020, in an attempted murder-suicide, Kentucky's Mayfield Police Department confirmed in a statement shared to its Facebook page. Mills was 29.
Police stated that Mills shot the mother of his 4-year-old daughter, 34-year-old Erica Price, causing "gunshot wounds to her arm and chest." The actor allegedly held Price's mom and his daughter hostage at a residence in Mayfield, Ky., and when Price returned home, he shot her before turning the gun on himself. Price is in stable condition as of this writing, while her mother and daughter were "not physically injured during the incident," police confirmed.
Mills starred as "Lucky" on the pilot episode of Baskets, a dark comedy co-created by Louis C.K., Zach Galifianakis, and Jonathan Krisel. The show, which ran from 2016 to 2019, follows Chip Baskets (Galifianakis) who, after flunking out of French clown school, is forced to take a job as a rodeo clown in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., per Vox. Mills' character has a few scenes with Galifianakis in the first episode.
The Kentucky native also had a role on Swedish Dicks, and starred in the upcoming horror film, Star Light, Deadline noted.
Police haven't released a motive
Police haven't established a motive for the attempted murder-suicide, telling People, "That would be speculative, whereas we are unable to interview the perpetrator." However, it is clear Hagen Mills had trouble with the law before his death. The Daily Mail reported that Mills had been arrested in March 2020 for "first-degree rape and sodomy, as well as kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine" involving an unidentified female. Prison officials told the outlet that Mills was released on May 6, 2020, "on a $500,000 property bond and $10,000 surety."
Mills had reportedly been splitting his time between Los Angeles and Kentucky before relocating to the Bluegrass State for good. "My last contact with Hagen was April 2018 after he went back home to Kentucky to address issues unrelated to the entertainment industry," Elyah Doryon, the actor's former rep, wrote in a statement to the Heavy. "I knew him as a talented actor and horseman with that classic southern hospitality and charm. May he rest in peace."
It's unclear what these issues were, although arrest records obtained by the Daily Mail reveal Mills was "arrested for a DUI in 2016, wanton endangerment in 2017, and second-degree assault in 2018," per the records.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224. You can also find more information, resources, and support at www.thehotline.org.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.