Singer and actress Naomi Judd was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her
head at her home in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee, on April 30, 2022.
The Grammy-Award-winning country musician's death sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment
industry.
Her death was a loss that all country music fans felt deeply, and just one day after her
passing, Naomi and her eldest daughter, Wynonna, were inducted into the prestigious Country
Music Hall of Fame.
The honor, which is reserved for just a few select artists, was awarded to the mother-daughter
duo for their critically-acclaimed musical act The Judds.
As a team, Naomi and Wynonna made a lasting impact on the world of country music.
With tears in her eyes, Wynonna and her younger sister, actress Ashley Judd, took the stage
at the Country Music Hall of Fame to celebrate their mother's legacy.
It must have been incredibly difficult for them to address their mother's death in such
a way – especially considering how she had passed just a day prior in such a traumatic
way.
While she was handed her well-deserved medal at the ceremony, Wynonna managed to crack
a smile before tenderly embracing her sister.
Ashley then gave a heartfelt speech in which she expressed sorrow that her mother wasn't
able to hang on a bit longer.
Not long after Ashley's speech, Wynonna took the mic.
She expressed that she hadn't planned to say much as she expected her mother to do most
of the talking.
Fighting back tears, she admitted that she felt equally blessed and heartbroken at the
same time.
Naomi and Wynonna formed The Judds in 1983.
The duo went on to become one of country music's most successful acts, winning five Grammys
and nine Country Music Association awards during their time together.
The Judds ceased performing and touring in 1991 after Naomi received her hepatitis diagnosis.
Wynonna went on to continue to perform as a solo artist, but she did occasionally reunite
with her mother for reunion tours as The Judds.
Since her passing, there has been a great deal of speculation about why Naomi Judd chose
to take life.
Just recently, we learned that the veteran country artist actually left behind a suicide
note that explained very clearly why felt as if she no other choice but to end it all.
Keep watching to learn how Naomi Judd confessed it all in that revealing note that she left
behind.
Naomi's Autopsy Report Was Very Revealing
According to the recently released autopsy report, Naomi left behind a suicide note for
her family to find before taking her own life in such a horrible manner.
According to the report, which was first obtained by the entertainment news outlet The Blast,
Judd had a significant medical history of being treated for things like depression,
bipolar disorder, anxiety, and several other medical issues.
The investigators who were tasked with looking into her death noted in that final report
that Namoi's family told them that she had previously dealt with suicidal ideation and
that she was going through a particularly challenging 'life stressor' at the time of
her passing.
According to the report, a weapon and note with 'suicidal connotations' were discovered
at the scene.
The report goes on to reveal that the 76-year-old singer was unresponsive when she was discovered
at her home by family members on the 30th of April, 2022.
She was suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and was immediately rushed to
Williamson Medical Center, where she was pronounced deceased not long after making her arrival.
Numerous prescription drugs were discovered to be in Naomi's system when investigators
conducted a routine toxicology report of her blood.
The medications found in her system included trazodone, memantine, primidone, venlafaxine,
etomidate, and clonazepam.
The list of meds she was taking included those used to treat ailments like insomnia, seizures,
and Alzheimer's disease.
She was reportedly also on several anti-depressant medications as well at the time of her death.
No illegal or street drugs were detected in her blood.
As one could assume, the autopsy report provides a vivid, albeit tragic, description of Judd's
gunshot wound.
We'll not get into all of that, however, to spare you the gruesome details, but it is
important to know that her official cause of death was indeed listed as suicide via
a gunshot wound to the head.
At the moment, the specifics of her suicide note have yet to be published, but it is known
that the note painted a fairly clear picture of why Naomi felt like she couldn't keep on
living.
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Ashley Remained By Her Mother's Side Until Paramedics Arrived
A month after her mother passed away, 54-year-old Ashley Judd, went on Good Morning America,
where she revealed to Diane Sawyer that her mother had taken her own life with the help
of a firearm.
Initially, this tidbit of information had been retained as the Judd family came to terms
with the awful reality of the situation.
Ashley Judd wasn't comfortable sharing that piece of information on live TV, but she explained
that if her family didn't come out and say it, someone else was going to.
The Daily Beast obtained a court filing in early August 2022 that revealed that Naomi
Judd was still alive, at least for a bit, after she discharged the firearm.
Reportedly, Ashley remained by her mom's side for nearly thirty minutes while she waited
for paramedics to arrive at the scene.
The documents that The Daily Beast released stated that Ashley was in a state of 'clinical
shock, acute distress, and active trauma' when she spoke to the Police and medics that
arrived at the home not long after the 911 call was placed.
When interviewed by GMA, Ashley discussed her mother's long-standing battle with mental
health, which she was remarkably candid about.
She told the outlet that when it comes to discussing mental illness, it's crucial to
make a clear distinction between the loved one and the disease.
She went on to say that her mother always felt 'seen and heard' in her anguish.
Naomi Judd Was Described As 'Fragile' Before Her Death
Naomi Judd married Larry Strickland in 1989.
The couple remained together for the next thirty years.
During CMT's: Naomi Judd: A River of Time televised special, which aired in May 2022,
Strickland spoke about his wife at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Larry told CMT that Naomi was the kind of person who 'never met a stranger'.
He went on to describe how much to his displeasure, she would always start conversations with
virtually anyone that she made eye contact with.
Oftentimes, Strickland said that he and his wife would end up standing for up to 30 minutes
talking to a complete stranger on the sidewalk.
To virtually anyone, she was more than happy to open up about her various passions and
her love for her dog.
According to Larry, the day before she took her life, Naomi flew alone from Austria to
Nashville to attend the Country Music Hall of Fame Ceremony.
He noted that it was rather unusual for her to fly alone.
The thought of her flying alone from Vienna to Nashville scared Larry because he knew
how fragile she was.
The Judd Family Filed To Prevent Release Of Documents
In early August 2022, the Judd family filed a court petition in an attempt to prevent
the release of several documents related to Naomi's death.
The filing was made at the Willaimson Country Chancery Court on behalf of Larry Strickland
and Naomi's daughters.
According to the petition, records from the investigation into Naomi's death, including
audio and video interviews conducted immediately after Judd's death, would cause trauma and
irreparable harm to the family if they were to be released.
In addition to the recordings, the family made the request that all investigative materials
and records, such as police reports and personal medical information, be kept strictly confidential.
Tennessee's public record laws typically allow for such records to be released by local law
enforcement.
That being said, police are generally given the discretion to withhold records while an
investigation is still ongoing.
After an investigation is closed, unfortunately, that exception no longer applies.
Records obtained from closed investigations are routinely released to the general public
and media.
The petition pointed out that numerous media outlets, including The Tennessean, had requested
that the records be released during the investigation.
The requests sought to obtain the toxicology and autopsy reports.
Toxicology and autopsy reports, according to Tennessee open record laws, are exempt
from the family's request and are seen as being public records.
The court filing by Judd's attorney, J. Michael Shipman, argued that the documents were private,
incredibly sensitive, and would result in nothing more than re-opening 'fresh wounds'
were they to be released.
The filing included heartfelt statements by Strickland and Naomi's daughters attesting
that the records, if they were to be published, would cause the family distress and anguish.
Ashely's statement stated that Naomi would have wanted to be remembered for the way that
she lived, not the way in which she died.
Obviously, Judd's petition was unable to prevent the release of some of these records, as they've
since been widely reported on in various news outlets worldwide.
That being said, the motion is scheduled to be heard in Williamson County Chancery Court
on September 12.
At that point, the court will determine the fate of the remaining records that have yet
to be leaked to the public.
The Death of Naomi Judd was entirely unexpected.
For country music fans, it's still hard to believe that Naomi is gone forever.
Hopefully, during these difficult times, Naomi's family can arrive at a place of peace.
It's always difficult to cope with a loved one's death, but that goes double for family's
of people that are in the public eye.
We're just about out of time for this video, but we'd love to hear from you.
Are you a fan of Naomi Judd's music, and were you as shocked as we were when you learned
that she had taken her own life?
Let us know in the comments.
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