PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis' wife died unexpectedly two months ago at the couple's Fountain Hills home and he's asking the courts to keep the cause of her death secret.

Schoeneweis' lawyer has asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to seal the death records.

Attorney Thomas Lawless argues that 38-year-old Gabrielle Dawn Schoeneweis' death on May 20 caused massive publicity that distressed her husband and traumatized the couple's four children.

But after Scott Schoeneweis' request was denied by a judge, his attorney immediately filed a special action in the Arizona Court of Appeals challenging the decision.

The appellate court ordered Thursday that no information regarding Gabrielle Schoeneweis' death be released pending consideration of the matter.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com