WAVERLY - Pike County authorities and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine refused Tuesday to release the final autopsy reports of eight Rhoden family members who were shot to death in April, something which public-records experts say is a mistake. Pike County Coroner Dr. David Kessler first denied The Dispatch access Friday night and again on Monday, and then wrote in an email Tuesday that he considers the autopsy reports "confidential law enforcement investigatory records." He wrote that their release "might impede the criminal investigation or the families' grieving process."

WAVERLY � Pike County authorities and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine refused Tuesday to release the final autopsy reports of eight Rhoden family members who were shot to death in April, something which public-records experts say is a mistake.

Pike County Coroner Dr. David Kessler first denied The Dispatch access Friday night and again on Monday, and then wrote in an email Tuesday that he considers the autopsy reports "confidential law enforcement investigatory records." He wrote that their release "might impede the criminal investigation or the families' grieving process."

The coroner offered no case law that gave him the authority to withhold the records, but DeWine's office later cited a 1984 Ohio Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that autopsy reports in a homicide investigation are confidential. The office also cited a section of the Ohio Revised Code that references a coroner's exemption for records that are considered confidential as part of a law enforcement investigation.

"We believe the law says they do not have to be released," DeWine said. He said case law protects such reports for a reason.

>> Pike County slayings: Complete coverage

Their release, he said, "would damage our ability to solve this case. Our ability to judge the veracity of information coming in, our ability to judge the credibility of information coming in, all goes away once that is public."

Dispatch Editor Alan D. Miller disagrees.

"While we respect what the authorities are saying about the investigation, we see no evidence that this would be disruptive to their investigation, which at this point seems to be going nowhere. Nor have we seen examples of the release of such information affecting similar cases in the past," Miller said.

"Is it conceivable that great public knowledge could help them solve the case? That's possible."

Miller said this case � and the papers request for the records � is not about the media. It's about public access to information.

"We have great respect for the authorities and the work they're doing to try and solve this case. We also believe the law says these records are public, and the attorney general and Pike County authorities don't get to choose what laws they follow."

The attorney general's own handbook on Ohio's public-record laws says that the section of state code that governs a coroner's records now supersedes that 1984 ruling.

David Marburger, a lawyer and expert in public-records law, said there is evidence that the 1984 case is no longer good law.

"There is a strong argument � strong � that the final autopsy report is public record," he said.

Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association and a public-record law expert, said officials are playing games. He said the public must understand that officials cannot pick and choose which laws to comply with, and that there is value in a journalist being able to see the records as the law requires.

Having access to the records does not mean the media will print every detail in the report. In fact, the Dispatch has been careful not to report all of the graphic details of the deaths, Miller said.

"We're human beings and we understand the effects of our work. We've been very measured in what we have reported in this case," he said.

Hetzel said use of the 1984 case is "shaky ground" and that an autopsy report does not meet the criteria set out in the public-records section of Ohio law that establishes what qualifies as a "confidential law enforcement investigatory record."

Friday marked three months since eight members of the Rhoden family were found shot to death inside four homes in rural Pike County. Investigators have not discussed a motive, identified suspects or made any arrests. They call the murders well-planned, calculated executions and say the killers (it's clear they believe there is more than one) covered their tracks.

The dead are: Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; her ex-husband, Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, with whom she had reconciled; their sons, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, and Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20; their daughter, Hanna Rhoden, 19; Frankie's fiancee, Hannah Gilley, 20; Chris Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; and Gary Rhoden, 38, a cousin to Chris Sr. and Kenneth.

Besides shedding the first light on what might have happened, the autopsy reports have real implications for the Rhoden, Manley and Gilley families. Funeral bills for the eight total well over $60,000. The families can apply for state money for victims of crime that would help to cover those expenses. But they're only eligible if the person who died had not used drugs. The final autopsy reports would include toxicology test results to determine that. Delay of a final official ruling from the coroner can also tie up probate and life insurance matters.

Tony Rhoden, a brother to Kenneth and Chris Sr., said the family doesn't want anything released that would jeopardize the case. But he worries about the results being kept secret for the wrong reasons. He said the family is anxious to see the autopsy results for themselves but he is fearful that officials will keep the findings from the relatives, too. And he said that would be unfair.

"At this point, the family just wants answers - answers to anything, you know?," he said. "We deserve that."

Three days after the killings, The Dispatch filed a written request to read the preliminary autopsy results, something Ohio law allows. DeWine's office and Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk, who is currently on vacation, have repeatedly denied that request as well. On Friday, the Cincinnati Enquirer filed a lawsuit seeking access to only those preliminary results.

Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.

Anyone with information can call 740-773-TIPS (8477) to report it anonymously. Tips also can be called in to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 855-BCI-OHIO (224-6446) or the Pike County sheriff's office at 740-947-2111.

hzachariah@dispatch.com

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