Judd died in April 2022
The autopsy of country singer Naomi Judd reveals that she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The report was released on Friday (Aug 26th), which confirms how her family says she died on April 30th at her home in rural Tennessee.
“We have always shared openly both the joys of being family as well its sorrows, too,” the family says in a statement. “One part of our story is that our matriarch was dogged by an unfair foe. She was treated for PTSD and bipolar disorder, to which millions of Americans can relate.”
The autopsy unveils that the 76 years old suffered from PTSD, bipolar disorder and depression. Several prescription drugs to treat those ailments were reported in her body at the time of her death. TMZ also reports that a suicide note was left near her body.
Upon news of her death, daughters Wynonna and Ashley’s claimed mental illness as the cause. A few days after the announcement, new details emerged that it was suicide, which Ashley confirmed two weeks later when appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Earlier this month, Judd’s husband of 33 years, Larry Strickland, and Wynonna and Ashley, won a court order to keep Naomi’s death records sealed from the public. The family had requested that the investigation into Judd’s suicide remain private, including records that depict the elder Judd in a “graphic manner.”
The family claims photo and video evidence, along with other documents of Judd’s death that the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department gathered, would cause “emotional distress, pain and mental anguish” for “years to come” if released.
A hearing set for September 12th. The court also ordered the county to alert parties who requested the documents under Tennessee’s open records law of its decision.
Naomi died one day before she and Wynonna were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at its annual Medallion Ceremony. Despite their grievances, the family had asked that the ceremony still honor The Judds as members of Class of 2021 as planned.
The Judds, one of the most successful duos in country music history and pioneers for women in country music, made a triumphant return to the CMT Music Awards performing their iconic hit, “Love Can Build a Bridge” two weeks prior to her death. They had also announced their first tour in over a decade, The Final Tour, with nearly all dates selling out. Wynonna will honor her mother on the 11 city trek with special star-studded tribute featuring Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Ashley McBryde, Trisha Yearwood, and others to be announced.
