Follow-Up: RJ Mitte Memorial Held in Brownsville: Sister Recalls a Brother Who Was Like a Father as Mother Explains Why She Did Not Speak
A memorial service for "Breaking Bad" actor RJ Mitte was held on Friday, October 16, at the Mitte Center in his hometown of Brownsville, Texas, where hundreds of family members, friends, local leaders, community members, and colleagues filled the venue and an overflow space. Mitte died at his Brownsville home on October 12 at age 34; his representative has confirmed he died by suicide, while the official manner of death remains pending autopsy results. GSM reported his death and the tributes that followed on October 12 and 14; this is the latest development.
Mitte's younger sister, Lacianne Carriere, wept through her eulogy. She said their mother was a single parent who was paralyzed from the waist down for the first years of Carriere's life after an accident, and that her brother immediately took on the father role: "I not only just lost a brother, I lost my father." She said every part of her, from the music she listens to and the games she plays to her mannerisms, is RJ. She closed by urging anyone who is struggling not to feel alone: "Try to accept the help, try. Try your hardest. And just reach out to someone." She added that Mitte loved Brownsville and that "his legacy here is not going to be ending. We'll continue on with all of his dreams that he had for this place just as he would want."
His mother, Dyna Mitte, did not speak at the service. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter given hours after the ceremony, she explained that planning a funeral or celebration of life is hard enough, knowing "you're waking up without your son or daughter and will never see or hear them again"; although she can still watch his movies and listen to his speeches, that itself is overwhelming, and standing up to share it all "was not something I felt prepared to do on that particular day." She said her daughter was devastated and determined to speak, and struggled throughout the service, so she needed to stay by her side to support her. The speakers, she said, were chosen from people close to RJ with meaningful relationships with him: "I speak about my children every day, and how wonderful they are, so I thought I would let other people share their memories of him."
Dyna also told THR that the family knew Mitte was going through a hard time and that she had encouraged him to talk to a counselor, believing he had gotten over the hump and was OK; on October 12, when he did not answer her 11 a.m. call, she recognized it as a red flag because they talked regularly. Her message to parents was to listen to their children, watch for the signs, and find a way to get them help even if they do not want it. She also addressed speculation that his career had slowed down: three of his movies have already come out this year, two more are coming, he had signed on to several new movies, had a book coming out, and was starting a food truck. A financial situation involving a former manager, she said, happened years ago, had already been resolved, and was not related to what happened.
After the service, reports circulated that Mitte's fiancee, Kennedy Suarez, had not been invited. Dyna told THR that the two were no longer living together this year; Suarez moved out in December, and they had seen each other only three or four times since, and that she did not know their private conversations. Suarez had reached out to one of RJ's friends on the day Dyna found her son, when no plans had yet been made, and Dyna said she had never spoken with Suarez about not coming to the funeral. Suarez has not responded to NBC News' questions about the relationship.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：R.J.米特2018年7月19日在 San Diego Comic-Con 发言。Gage Skidmore 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，维基共享资源（资料图）。Photo: RJ Mitte speaking at San Diego Comic-Con on July 19, 2018. Photo by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (file photo).
- 2026-10-12R.J. Mitte, Who Played Walter White's Son on 'Breaking Bad,' Dies at 34
- 2026-10-14Follow-Up: Rep Confirms R.J. Mitte's Cause of Death as 'Breaking Bad' Casting Director Sharon Bialy Pens Tribute and Cast Mourns
- 2026-10-20Follow-Up: RJ Mitte Memorial Held in Brownsville: Sister Recalls a Brother Who Was Like a Father as Mother Explains Why She Did Not SpeakThis story
