Naomi Judd’s death records will be kept private – per her family’s request – due to the “graphic” nature in which she died, a judge has ruled.
The late country singer’s husband, Larry Strickland, and her two daughters, Wynonna and Ashley Judd, filed a request in Williamson County, Tennessee, on Monday to keep any investigation records into her suicide private as it may cause “emotional distress, pain and mental anguish” if released, court documents obtained by NBC said.
Naomi – who battled depression and mental illness for years – died in April aged 76.
Her family argued in the court documents that records could depict the death of the singer in a “graphic manner”, new york post reports.
“Moreover, the release of these records would continue to cause the entire family pain for years to come,” the filing also stated.
According to NBC, the request was temporarily granted, but a hearing regarding the matter was scheduled for September 12.
Strickland and the Judd sisters filed the request on the same day news broke that Naomi had left her daughters’ names out of her will and made her husband executor of her estate.
Wynonna, 58, and Ashley, 54, did not address the apparent slight but a source told RadarOnline.com earlier this week that Wynonna is “upset” that she was excluded because she formed half of the duo The Judds with her mother.
The singer reportedly believes she was “a major force behind her mother’s success”.
A legal expert told Page Six exclusively on Tuesday that while it is “common” for a person to name the spouse as the executor of their will, “leaving out her daughters seems pointed, like a purposeful act on Naomi’s part”.
Lawyer Holly Davis added, however, that if “there is an issue or tension between the husband and the daughters, we will find out if there will be a will contest via probate lawyers in the coming days”.
This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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