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NASHVILLE, TN — The family of country singer Naomi Judd filed a petition in court Friday to seal police reports and records made during the investigation into her death.
The family filed the petition in Williamson County Chancery Court, saying the tapes contain video and audio interviews with relatives immediately after Judd’s death, and release of such details would cause “significant trauma and irreparable harm.”
The petition was filed on behalf of her husband, Larry Strickland, and her daughters, Ashley and Winona Judd. A representative provided it to The Associated Press with the family’s permission.
Judd, 76, died April 30 at her home in Tennessee. Her daughter Ashley previously said her mother had killed herself and the family said she had been lost to the “disease of mental illness”.
Court documents also include details of how Ashley Judd found her mother alive after she shot herself. Ashley stayed with her mother for 30 minutes until help arrived.
The petition asks the court to bar the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office from releasing the records on several grounds, including that disclosure would include her medical records and that the family has a right to privacy.
Tennessee’s public records law generally allows for the release of local law enforcement records, but police have the right to retain records while an investigation is underway. Once the investigation is complete, this exception no longer applies. The AP left a message with the sheriff’s office Friday seeking comment.
Strickland, Winona and Ashley Judd filed statements outlining their concerns about the recordings. Strickland said in court filings that he was unaware that his interviews with law enforcement were being recorded and that he shared private and personal information to assist the investigation.
Ashley Judd said she was in “clinical shock, active trauma and acute distress” when she spoke to law enforcement and that she did not want the records, including video, audio and photos, to remain in the public domain forever and haunt the family them for generations.
The petition says media outlets in Tennessee have already filed public records requests in her case.
Judd’s death the day before her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame drew intense national media attention regarding her cause of death, but also the filing of probate and probate documents.
In a statement, the family said misinformation is being spread about the Judds and they want to get the facts straight while protecting their grieving process.
“Our family continues to grieve together in private, in unity and community, recognizing our mother’s beauty and talent as a gift to the world,” the family said in a statement. “Misinformation has been spread as we continue to grieve and mourn this. We ask news organizations to report only facts. And because we recognize that other families struggle 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.
Naomi and her daughter Winona Judd scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decades. The red-haired duo combined traditional Appalachian bluegrass sounds with clean-cut pop stylings, scoring hit after hit throughout the 1980s. Winona led the duo with her powerful vocals, while Naomi provided harmony and a stylish look on stage.
The Judds released six studio albums and one EP between 1984 and 1991 and won nine Country Music Association and seven Academy of Country Music Awards. They won a total of five Grammy Awards together for hits like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love,” and Naomi won a sixth Grammy for writing “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
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