Naomi Judd Death Investigation: Latest Update on Family’s Legal Battle

The investigation into Naomi Judd’s death continues. FOX News reports that a court in Tennessee, where the country legend lived for years before her death at the age of 76, withdrew a ruling that required police to publicly release their investigation of her passing. The state Supreme Court did not rule on whether the records could be released, but they sent the case back to the lower court for an additional hearing. Judd’s family filed a court petition in August to seal police reports and recordings made during the investigation. Per the report, the records contained video and audio interviews with Judd’s family members after Naomi died by suicide. The family states that releasing the records to the public would cause “significant trauma and irreparable harm.”

The filing was made on behalf of Naomi’s husband Larry Strickland, and her daughters – actress Ashley and half of the Judd’s, Wynonna. Williamson County Chancellor Joseph A. Woodruff ruled against the Judd family, denying their request for an injunction to keep the records private. Per Woodruff’s ruling, the records “do not appear to fall within any recognized exception to the Public Records Act.”

Additionally, the chancellor ruled that specific records in the police file are public records. The records also include body camera footage taken inside of Judd’s home. 

After the ruling, the Tennessee high court announced that Woodruff should not have determined which specific records are public or private without a complete hearing regarding the matter. The ruling was vacated and a new hearing was scheduled. 

In her first interview since her mother’s death, Wynonna spoke about not realizing her mother was in a bad mental state. Naomi long struggled with mental health issues. “I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it,” Wynnona explained to correspondent Lee Cowan. “Because she had had episodes before and she got better. And that’s what I live in, is like, ‘Was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?’ I didn’t.”