ORLANDO, Fla. — Relatives of a SeaWorld trainer dragged into the water by a killer whale last month will suffer severe harm if video of her death is made public, their attorney told a judge Wednesday.
Dawn Brancheau, 40, died Feb. 24 when the whale named Tilikum grabbed her by her ponytail and thrashed her around after a show.
Jon Mills, an attorney for Brancheau’s family members, said in court that their right to privacy outweighs the public’s right to view the video captured by SeaWorld cameras. At a hearing that lasted less than an hour, he asked the judge to permanently stop the video from being released. “There is no constitutional right to voyeurism and there is a constitutional right to privacy,” Mills said.
Circuit Judge Lawrence Kirkwood did not immediately rule on the request for the permanent injunction. He had issued a temporary injunction last week to prevent the release of the video, which was turned over to law enforcement.Unless he intervenes, the material will become public under Florida law once the Orange County Sheriff’s Office concludes its investigation.
Grieving relatives have succeeded in keeping such images from being made public in other cases — Dale Earnhardt’s widow, for instance, successfully fought in Florida to prevent the release of autopsy photos of the race-car driver, who died in a 2001 crash.
