A new court petition seeking to block the release of Naomi Judd's toxicology and autopsy reports revealed new details about the musician's death, including her daughter Ashley Judd finding her still alive after she shot herself.
Ashley Judd Told Judge Naomi Was Alive After The Gunshot
In April, Ashley Judd and Wynnona Judd lost their mom Naomi Judd. According to them, Naomi passed away due to mental illness. Ashley later revealed that her mom used a weapon and shot herself.
In her court filing Friday, Ashley told a judge that when she found her mom, she was still alive. The Double Jeopardy actress stayed by her side for 30 minutes until help arrived, Radar Online reported.
The cops from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department also have footage recorded on their bodycam when they interviewed Ashley at the scene.
Ashley, her sister Wynnona, and their stepfather Larry Strickland filed court papers against Williamson County and its sheriff to prevent the release of Naomi's death, which includes photographs and videos depicting her death and Ashley's interviews.
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"(The Judds) will suffer significant trauma and irreparable harm in the form of emotional distress, pain and mental anguish should these records be released," attorney J. Michael Shipman II, representing the family wrote. "Moreover, the release of these records would continue to cause the entire family personal and public pain for years to come as they would undoubtedly live in perpetuity on the internet."
The lawyer continued, "The plaintiffs are continuing to grieve over the loss of their wife and mother. “This broad dissemination and public reporting of the details of Ms. Judd's death would be traumatic and cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs in the form of emotional distress, pain and mental anguish as they grieve the loss of their mother."
According to Ashley, she was not informed that she was being recorded during the interview. She was also not aware that the recording would be available to the public. She added that she was in "clinical shock, active trauma and acute distress" when she spoke with law enforcement.
Strickland also shared the same sentiment. The widower said he was unaware his interview was being recorded. He noted that the personal information he shared should not be accessible to the public.
Ashley Judd Recalls 'Grief And Trauma' After Discovering Naomi's Body
Ashley shared more details surrounding her mom's death in an interview with Good Morning America. According to her, she visited her mom that day and Naomi asked her if she would stay with her.
"It was a mixed day. So I see my Mom and Pop every day when I’m home in Tennessee. So I was at the house visiting as I am every day. And Mom said to me, 'Will you stay with me?' and I said, 'Of course, I will,'" she recalled. "I went upstairs to let her know that [her] friend was there, and I discovered her. I have both grief and trauma from discovery."
In the same interview, she confirmed that Naomi used a gun to kill herself.
"She used a weapon. My mother used a firearm," she was quoted by Page Six as saying. "So that’s the piece of information we are very uncomfortable sharing."
Naomi had been struggling with mental illness for years. In a previous interview, she admitted that she suffered from life-threatening depression. In an open letter for Mental Health Awareness Week in 2018, she talked about suicide and bringing it into mainstream neuroscience and being treated like other brain disorders.
"People who [take their own lives] are experiencing problems with mood, impulse control and aggression, all of which involve discrete circuits in the brain that regulate these aspects of human experience, but we still don't understand how these circuits go haywire in the brains of suicide victims," Naomi wrote.
The late country singer also talked about her mental health battle in her 2016 book River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope. According to Naomi, "Nobody can understand it unless you've been there."
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