I'm going to come right out and say it: MINDY MCREADY was an incredibly disturbed human being. The local sheriff said BEFORE Mindy turned the gun on herself . . . she SHOT and KILLED her late boyfriend David Wilson's DOG. It even sounds like some kind of ritual killing . . . because the sheriff found Mindy and the dog NEXT TO EACH OTHER on the SAME PORCH where Wilson died last month. It's like she wanted them to be joined in death. And let's not forget that before she took her own life, Mindy was considered a suspect in Wilson's death.

The bizarre circus that was Mindy's life is certainly following her in death.  Seems like everyone who's ever dealt with her has something to say.

Mindy's "Celebrity Rehab" roommate MACKENZIE PHILLIPS was actually pretty shaken up about it.  She told TMZ, quote. "She was my friend.  She was a really good person.  I loved her very much.

"[Mindy] was funny.  She was smart. She was loving. She was kind. She was incredibly talented . . . I'm in grief and it's very raw."

Legendary pitcher ROGER CLEMENS . . . who Mindy claimed to have had a longtime affair with . . . called Mindy's death "sad news". He added, "She was trying to get peace and direction in her life."

And then there's Mindy's ex-boyfriend Billy McKnight.  He's the father of her son Zander . . . and he's also the idiot who almost killed her back in 2005.  He said he was NOT "shocked" when he heard the news.

Here's one last bizarre twist to all of this. Mindy recently hired a private investigator named Danno Hanks . .  . . to help her make a video of a song called "I'll See You Yesterday".  Danno thought the video was to help people deal with a loved one's suicide, but now believes he was helping Mindy write her suicide note.

Finally . . . Mindy's PR flaks issued an official death statement.  As you'd expect, they're asking for "sensitivity" and "quiet". They're also working out details to do a public memorial in Nashville.