Photo: NBC
On Monday, a judge in Florida barred the disclosure of conclusive records linked to actor and comedian Bob Saget’s death probe.
The Saget family has been granted a permanent mandate by Vincent Chiu, judge of the Ninth Circuit.
The judge’s ruling came nearly a month after the Saget family filed suit to block certain records’ release, pointing to privacy concerns.
Saget family representative Brian Bieber said in a statement, “The entire family is grateful that the judge granted their request for an injunction to preserve Bob’s dignity, as well as their privacy rights, especially after suffering this unexpected and tragic loss.”
“We are pleased this issue has been resolved, and the healing process can continue to move forward. All of the prayers and well wishes continuously extended to the family are beyond appreciated,” he added.
Saget died in his hotel room in Orlando, Florida, in January this year. According to the Orange County Medical Examiner’s office, the cause of his death was accidental and most probably because of head trauma due to falling. He was 65 years old.
The Orange County, Florida Sheriff’s Department has finished Saget’s death probe and published a final report on the subject on Monday.
The medical examiner has ruled the same thing—that Saget’s death was accidental and there are no signs of foul play, according to sources close to the investigation. However, the official document detailing their findings is under a court-ordered ban preventing them from releasing any new information about the comedian’s death.
Kelly Rizzo, Saget’s widow, and her three daughters dragged Orange County’s sheriff into court last month, demanding that investigation records linked to the death be spared from being released publicly due to their graphic nature in how they describe the late actor.
“In the process of these investigations, Defendants created records which include photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, statutorily protected autopsy information, and all other statutorily protected information,” indicated in the lawsuit. “Upon information and belief, some of these Records graphically depict Mr. Saget, his likeness or features, or parts of him, and were made by Defendants during Defendants’ investigations.”
The family claims in the lawsuit that the disclosure of this data, may it be through a public records request or any other outlet, would cause them to “suffer irreparable harm in the form of extreme mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress.”
