Naomi Judd’s Family Requests Court To Seal Death Investigation Report

Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna Judd achieved 14 No. 1 hits in a career spanning close to three decades. Naomi contributed harmonies and stylish stage looks, while Wynonna led the duo with her powerful vocals. Wynonna was outraged a few weeks ago when she discovered she wasn’t included in Naomi’s Will. The Judd family has now requested that the death investigation report be sealed by the court.

Naomi Judd’s family filed a court petition Friday seeking to seal police reports and recordings produced during the investigation into her death. The petition was filed in Williamson County Chancery Court by the family. They stated that the records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the Intermediate aftermath of Judd’s death, and that releasing such details would cause “significant trauma and irreparable harm.”

The petition was filed on her husband Larry Strickland’s behalf, as well as her daughters Ashley and Wynonna Judd. With the family’s permission, a representative shared it with The Associated Press. Judd died on April 30 at her Tennessee home.

Naomi’s daughter Ashley earlier stated that her mother killed herself, and the family stated that she died as a result of “the disease of mental illness.” The court filing also revealed how Ashley Judd discovered her mother alive after she shot herself. Ashley waited for help for 30 minutes by her mother’s side.

The petition requests that the court prohibit the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office from releasing the records for many reasons, including the disclosure of her medical records and the family’s right to privacy. Strickland, Wynonna, and Ashley Judd all submitted statements expressing their concern with the records.

In the court filing, Strickland stated that he was unaware that his interviews with law enforcement were being recorded and that he shared personal and private information to help with the investigation. Ashley Judd stated that she was in “clinical shock, active trauma, and acute distress” when she met with law enforcement and that she did not want those recordings, which included video, audio, and images, to remain in the public domain in permanence and haunt their family for generations.

According to the petition, media outlets in Tennessee had previously requested public records in her case. According to the family’s statement, misinformation about the Judds was circulating, and they wanted to state the facts while still protecting their grief process.

“Our family continues to grieve together privately, in unity and community, recognizing our mother’s beauty and talents as a gift to the world. There has been misinformation circulated as we continue to mourn, and we lament that. We ask news organizations only to cover facts. And as we recognize other families struggling as a loved one faces mental health crises, we encourage them to seek help through NAMI: The National Alliance on Mental Illness, available 24 hours a day at 800-950-6264.”

Judd’s passing the day before she was due to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame has attracted major national media attention to both the circumstances of her death and the filing of estate and will paperwork. Let’s wait and see what transpires. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

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