Naomi Judd was a country music superstar who died at the tender age of 76. The news was made public by her family, including Wynonna Judd and Wynonna Judd. At that time, they shared only that “mental illness” had taken Naomi’s life.
Then in May, her family, feeling the pressure of tabloid media speculation about their mother’s cause of death, spoke publicly for the first time, as I wrote:
On Thursday, more details of Naomi’s death by suicide were revealed by daughter and actress Ashley, in a new interview that aired on “Good Morning America.” She said the family had not wanted to speak publicly about their mother’s death, that it was “way too soon,” but the nature of tabloid journalism forced them to tell the world how their mom had taken her own life–with “a firearm.”
The family now plans to take that battle to court in order to protect their private expressions of heartache. The Associated Press has updated the information:
Naomi Judd, the family of country music singer Naomi Judd, filed a petition in court Friday asking for sealing all police records and recordings from her murder investigation.
The family filed the petition in Williamson County Chancery Court, saying the records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the immediate aftermath of Judd’s death, and releasing such details would inflict “significant trauma and irreparable harm.”
This petition was submitted on behalf of Larry Strickland, her husband and Wynonna and Wynonna Judd. A representative provided it to The Associated Press with the family’s permission.
At issue, in part, are recordings the police made in the wake of the singer’s death — which Strickland says were done without his knowledge:
Both Ashley Judd and Strickland submitted statements expressing concerns over the records. Strickland claimed in the court filing that the recordings of his conversations with police officers had been recorded. Additionally, he stated that he knew that personal and private data were being shared to help in the investigation.
This just isn’t supposed to happen to a grieving family. Whether you’re famous or not, we all deserve the time and space to get settled back into the stream of life — not worrying whether one of the most intimate and private moments anyone ever experiences will be exposed to the world’s prying eyes.