“Married at First Sight New Zealand” star Andrew Jury died in prison last week, mere hours before he was supposed to appear in court on assault charges.
The 33-year-old reality TV alum’s death was confirmed to the New Zealand Herald by his family. His cause of death is unclear but under investigation by the corrections facility where he was being held.
“It should have been a red flag when Andy stopped communicating with family and friends,” said his father, Roy Jury. “I and Andy’s extended family and friends are deeply saddened and bewildered by this distressing event.”
Local authorities and Mt. Eden Corrections Facility confirmed to the outlet that an individual died at the penitentiary on Thursday morning, despite attempts to save him.
Though police told the Herald the “death is not being treated as suspicious,” Mt. Eden prison general manager Dion Paki noted that all deaths behind bars are subject to an internal incident review as well as an independent investigation.
Jury, whose dad says he was “struggling” behind bars, was arrested in early April and charged with unlawfully entering a building, assault with intent to injure, willful damage, possession of an offensive weapon and threatening behavior, according to court records obtained by the outlet.
Jury, a builder, appeared in the first season of the reality hit’s New Zealand installment in 2017, at which point he matched with Vicky Gleeson-Stokes. The pair wed but ultimately split following the finale.
The Kiwi chapter’s producer, Warner Bros Discovery, addressed Jury’s passing in a statement to Deadline, noting it “expresses our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Andrew Jury.”
“WBD takes duty of care extremely seriously and has protocols in place regarding the wellbeing of cast and crew. All ‘MAFS NZ’ contributors have access to mental health professionals throughout the process, including pre-screening, during production and after broadcast,” continued a WBD spokesperson.
Jury in 2018 told the Herald that, while the franchise’s contestants “are the most amazing people,” they “got burned” by the “unethical” process of making the series.
“I make great TV, but my wife and me were not matched in the slightest,” he said at the time. “How can they say it’s a legit process when you get the complete opposite of what you want?”
His former castmates, including Gleeson-Stokes as well as Brett and Angel Rennall, mourned Jury in a joint statement they shared with the Herald, noting the show “leaves us intricately linked for a lifetime.”
“Despite his struggles, Andrew was always friendly and the life of the party during our shared experience and he really valued his time on the show,” read part of the statement.
___
© 2024 New York Daily News
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
