Matthew and Beth's mother suffered from depression, had a history of abusing medications and alcohol. and had threatened repeatedly to kill herself. During an argument following Matthew's first year of college around 1978, when Matthew told his father at dinner he had dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania, the she argued with Stewart and again threatened to kill herself. No longer taking it seriously, he told her to do it "or shut up." Without a word, she walked out of the dining room, picked up a gun and fatally shot herself in the face. When the police came, Stewart (who had followed his wife out of the room and witness her shoot herself) instructed his children to say that they had all seen it. Stewart would later say he didn't want his family's ugliness exposed.