A paddle out memorial service for Andy Irons was held on-site in Porta Del Sol, attended by the world’s best surfers and hundreds of admirers. Photo: ASP/CESTARI
After three-time World Champion Andy Irons died in a Texas hotel room November 2, 2010 while returning home to Kauai from an ASP World Tour event in Puerto Rico, speculation regarding the surf star’s cause of death rippled through the press.
In response to an injunction request filed by Lyndie Irons, Andy’s widow and mother of the family’s first child ( born on December 8, 2010), the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has decided not to release the autopsy report for another six months, hoping that media interest will subside. According to Irons’ petition, the media has gone so far as to camp in her front yard, causing distress to her and her family.
According to the petition, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office was ready to release the autopsy, but had lingering questions for the Center of Disease Control about Irons’ death, and the media’s response to this information would tarnish the branding of “Andy Irons’ company,” upon which Lyndie and her child depend.
“Should the autopsy report be released now, Lyndie Irons and her newborn child would suffer immediate and irrevocable harm in that the branding value would be greatly diminished as a result of the intense news frenzy,” reads the petition. “Delaying release of this report is in the best interest of Lyndie Irons and her newborn child, and district courts in Texas have great discretion in fashioning relief designed to protect the best interest of children.”
According to KITV.com, authorities agreed to withhold the autopsy until May 20, 2011.
