An appeals court has rejected a newspaper's request for access to coroner's office evidence regarding eight Ohio massacre victims.
The Cincinnati Enquirer asked the Pike County Coroner for preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and other material for the victims of last year's still unsolved killings.
At issue before the 4th District Court of Appeals was a reporter's right to invoke an exception to state law that shields such preliminary information.
The court in Chillicothe ruled against the newspaper last week, saying the information is protected as "confidential law enforcement investigatory records."
Jack Greiner, an attorney representing the newspaper, called the ruling disappointing.
The Ohio Supreme Court is considering a separate request from the Enquirer and the Columbus Dispatch for the complete autopsy reports.
