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Judge temporarily blocks release of records in Bob Saget death investigation

E Bob Saget Abc 02162022
ABC/Craig Sjodin

A Florida judge has granted the family of Bob Saget a temporary injunction to block the release of records from the investigation of his sudden death, court documents show.

The 65-year-old comedian and Full House actor was found dead in his Florida hotel room on January 9 of what the chief medical examiner for Orange and Osceola counties ruled was blunt force head trauma “likely incurred from an unwitnessed fall.” The medical examiner further said that the manner of death was accidental, with no sign that drugs, alcohol or foul play were involved.

On Tuesday, Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo, and three daughters asked a judge to block  the release of any records — including photographs, video and audio recordings, and “…autopsy information” — related to Saget’s death.  The request declared “Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm in the form of extreme mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if Defendants release the Records…”

On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Chiu granted the temporary injunction that bars the sheriff and medical examiner’s office from releasing any of Saget’s death records. The injunction will remain in effect until a future court decision on the family’s request.

The court found that the family has a “clear legal right or interest” in the records, Chiu wrote in his order, “and that the public interest is served by the entry of a temporary injunction to allow the Court adequate opportunity to weigh Plaintiffs’ legitimate privacy interest against the public’s claim for disclosure.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that while it is “sensitive” to the privacy concerns, “that must be balanced with our commitment to transparency, compliance with the law, and the public’s right to know.”

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