Authorities recently cited the safety of potential witnesses as a primary concern in asking a judge to keep the final autopsy results of Bobbi Kristina Brown sealed.

WSBTV in Atlanta reports the request also cites the integrity of the ongoing criminal probe into the circumstances of Brown's death, which has designated Brown's longtime boyfriend Nick Gordon as the primary target.

The 22-year-old Brown died under hospice care in late July, almost six months after she was found face down in the bathtub of the home she shared with Gordon. She has since been buried alongside mom Whitney Houston at a New Jersey cemetery.

In the aftermath of her death, Brown's conservator Bedelia Hargrove has slapped Gordon with a multimillion wrongful death suit, alleging that he physically abused and stole from Brown during the time that they were together.

In the hours before Brown had to be rushed to a hospital emergency room, the suit also asserts that he gave her a "toxic cocktail" that effectively rendered her defenseless.

"That whole case hinges on whether Nick Gordon had something to do with Bobbi Kristina's death," said Atlanta attorney Jamila Hall, who is not associated with the case.

In response, Gordon's lawyers recently filed a lengthy document requesting a stay, or temporarily stop, in the civil case against him. According to Hall, the counter-move was all part of a calculated response to secure Gordon's Fifth Amendment rights.

"Anything he says in the civil case could be used against him in the criminal investigation," she said. "The outcome of the criminal investigation could be quite helpful to Nick Gordon in the civil case and it could also hurt him. It all depends on what comes out."

Reports are the court's order also cites the risk that defendants may flee as another reason to now keep official documents sealed.

Brown was the only child born to Houston and then husband Bobby Brown.