Chimp victim's family wants photos sealed
By DEBRA ALFARONE and LEANNE GENDREAU
Two hearings involving the woman who was brutally attacked by a chimpanzee in February were postponed Monday and her family's lawyers are asking that photos of her remain sealed.
Attorneys for a Charla Nash are also asking a judge to keep her medical records from the public.
Nash, 55, lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids on Feb. 16 when Travis, a 200-pound celebrity chimp belonging to Sandra Herold, of Stamford, attacked.
Matt Newman, an attorney for the conservator of Charla Nash, said Nash's right to privacy overrides the public's right to see the photos. The photos and records will be evidence in Nash's $50 million lawsuit against chimp owner Sandra Herold.
"They're extremely graphic, naturally," Newman said of the photos. "There is an overriding privacy concern with regard to the family members of Ms. Nash and in particularly her daughter."
Herold's attorneys did not object to the request to seal the photos and records, and Stamford Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin Jr. scheduled an April 27 hearing to discuss the request.
Karazin did not make an immediate ruling on Newman's request to make permanent a restraining order that places an attachment on Herold's property and assets, keeping her from selling them. Herold's attorneys are opposing the request because they say there was no way to predict the chimp would attack Nash.
Nash’s family filed a $50 million lawsuit in March, claiming Herold was negligent and reckless when she asked Nash to come over and lure her pet chimp back into her home.
Nash's attorneys are seeking an account of Herold's assets. A judge has granted a temporary restraining order that prevents Herold from selling or mortgaging her assets, and has scheduled a hearing for Monday on the attorneys' request for detailed financial information from Herold.
Herold's attorney said the attack was an accident and that Herold should not be held liable.
Stamford police are still considering criminal charges.
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