Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter paid a heartbreaking tribute to his younger brother Aaron Carter, who was found dead in his Lancaster, California, home on Saturday. “Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth,” the elder Carter wrote writing in a poignant Instagram post on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Carter was found dead in his home Saturday by his housekeeper. He had drowned.
“My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,” Nick wrote in a caption to several photos of the two famous brothers through the years.
The two had had a fraught relationship over the years, marred by Aaron’s repeated battled with substance abuse and addiction. Nick and Angel, Aaron’s twin sister, said they filed a restraining order against Aaron in 2019.
“I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed. Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth….I love you baby brother.”
In a police audio clip newly obtained by TMZ, Carter’s housekeeper can be heard screaming as she talks with a 911 operator about finding the rapper unresponsive “in the tub.” When paramedics arrived, Carter was already dead. Although cause of death has not been released, he has had an extensive history of drug use.
Aaron’s twin sister, Angel, also shared family photos of them together as infants and toddlers on Instagram. “To my twin… I loved you beyond measure. You will be missed dearly. My funny, sweet Aaron,I have so many memories of you and I, and I promise to cherish them. I know you’re at peace now. I will carry you with me until the day I die and get to see you again. ?,” Angel wrote.
Carter was open about his past struggles with addiction. In September, he lost custody of the son he shares with ex-fiancee Melanie Martin, and he voluntarily checked into rehab in an attempt to regain custody.
That same month, fans called police to do a welfare check after it appeared he was doing drugs during an Instagram Live, Complex reported at the time. He was asleep when law enforcement arrived and they determined there were no drugs at the scene. Aaron later claimed it had been a joke: “I’m tired of people coming after me so I trolled everybody,” he told TMZ.
TheWrap’s original headline included a quote that was edited out of and changed in Nick Carter’s Instagram post.