Jordan Karlesson
Naomi Judd surviving family members are still — and probably will always be — brokenhearted over the matriarch’s tragic demise earlier this year. But they’ve had a change of heart over their lawsuit trying to block police from releasing records of their investigation into her death.
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The Judd family on Monday told a Tennessee court they are voluntarily dismissing the suit, according to The Associated Press. If successful, the suit would’ve blocked the media from seeing the records.
The family reportedly made the decision because journalists seeking the records aren’t also asking for photos of Naomi Judd’s body. The media also isn’t trying to get its hands on body cam footage, AP reported.
Naomi’s Tragic Death and Its Aftermath
Naomi Judd committed suicide in April by gunshot to the head. Four months ago, her family members filed the lawsuit.
The family members included Naomi’s widow, Larry Strickland; and her surviving daughters Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd.
The following month, Ashley explained the motivation behind the suit in an essay for The New York Times. It was titled “Ashley Judd: The Right to Keep Private Pain Private.”
In it, Ashley Judd insisted the media extend privacy to family and friends who lose a loved one to suicide. She called her mother’s death “shattering.”
Ashley Judd further confessed her fear about the police releasing its reports and interviews with family members to the public.
“The horror of it will only worsen if the details surrounding her death are disclosed by the Tennessee law that generally allows police reports, including family interviews, from closed investigations to be made public,” she said.
