A Georgia judge ruled on Thursday that Bobbi Kristina’s autopsy could be released to the public. This comes on a day before what would have been Bobbi Kristina Brown‘s 23rd birthday
The judge, Henry M. Newkirk, decided to lift the protective order at the request of local NBC affiliates 11Alive News.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry M. Newkirk decided to lift the protective order at the request of local NBC affiliate 11Alive News, also known as WXIA-TV, reports the New York Daily News:
Lawyers for the media company argued for access on First Amendment grounds, saying the public has a right to know what killed the only daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston and New Edition frontman Bobby Brown, WXIA-TV reported.
In their arguments, the lawyers reportedly referenced a dramatic rise in heroin use in the county and said that if Bobbi Kristina had heroin in her system at the start of her medical emergency, it would be in the public’s interest to know.
22-year-old Bobbi Kristina was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub on Jan. 31, 2015.
She hanged on for her life in a coma for months and died July 26, 2015, in hospice care.
A wrongful death civil claim was filed against boyfriend Nick Gordon claiming he caused her global brain damage by knocking her out with drugs and leaving her for dead in a tub of cold water.
Prosecutors have been reviewing the case for possible criminal charges ever since Roswell Police submitted evidence last June.
State officials quickly sought the sealing of the autopsy and have argued it should remain under wraps pending the ongoing criminal investigation.
