Matthew Mindler’s mom speaks of son’s ‘crippling anxiety' for years before suicide

Former child actor Matthew Mindler’s mother, Monica Mindler, has come forward to speak of her son’s “crippling anxiety.”

Mrs. Mindler revealed that despite the anxiety, the late 19-year-old child actor, kept in constant contact with her son when he started undergraduate studies at Millersville University in Pennsylvania on Aug. 19 so that she could help him deal with the issues he had suffered for years.

She further revealed that he had assured that he was making friends and enjoying his first week of college, even had made plans to start a computer programming club and a job interview in the IT department.

Monica Mindler had last reached out to the Our Idiot Brother star on Tuesday, telling him she was planning to pick him up Friday to take him home to ease her fear over his ‘crippling anxiety.’ But her messages after that went through as texts instead of iMessages, hinting that Mindler’s phone was either turned off or was in an area with a bad signal. But the teenager never replied.

Three days after being reported missing, Mindler’s body was found close to campus on Monday. Officials ruled the death as suicide.

Millersville University released a statement following the discovery of the body, “It is with a grieving heart that I let you know of the death of 19-year-old Matthew Mindler from Hellertown, Pennsylvania, a first-year student at Millersville University. A search had been underway for Matthew since Thursday after he was reported missing. Matthew was found deceased this morning, Saturday, August 28, in Manor Township near campus. Matthew was transported to the Lancaster County Forensic Center by the coroner for further investigation.”

Monica Mindler also released a statement via TMZ, “We appreciate the support, concern, and outpouring of prayers from Millersville University, the students, and the community. My heart is crushed and my mind cannot yet fathom this reality.”

In the 2011 film My Idiot Brother, Matthew Mindler co-starred with Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Zooey Deschanel. He appeared in the TV series As the World Turns in 2009, the TV show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in 2015, and the TV movie Chad: An American Boy in 2016.