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Ohio

Coroner: Family of 8 slain feared release of autopsy details

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE – In this May 3, 2016, file photo, hearses for six of the eight members of the Rhoden family found shot April 22, 2016, at four properties near Piketon, Ohio, depart during funeral services from Dry Run Church of Christ in West Portsmouth, Ohio. Neither criminal investigators nor objections by family members directly influenced Pike County Coroner David Kessler's decision to shield full autopsy reports of the eight massacre victims, according to Kessler's deposition filed with the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in response to lawsuits by Ohio newspapers seeking the full, unredacted autopsy reports. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE – In this April 22, 2016, file photo, authorities set up roadblocks at the perimeter of one of four properties near Piketon, Ohio, where seven adults and a 16-year-old boy from the Rhoden family were found shot to death, at the intersection of Union Hill Road and Route 32 in Pike County, Ohio. Neither criminal investigators nor objections by family members directly influenced Pike County Coroner David Kessler's decision to shield full autopsy reports of the eight massacre victims, according to Kessler's deposition filed with the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in response to lawsuits by Ohio newspapers seeking the full, unredacted autopsy reports. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (The Associated Press)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A coroner says objections by family members didn't directly influence his decision to shield full autopsy reports of eight Ohio massacre victims.

Pike County Coroner David Dessler says relatives raised concerns about releasing details of how the victims were killed.

Dessler also said in a deposition filed Tuesday in the Ohio Supreme Court that he didn't have conversations with criminal investigators about information he redacted in the full autopsy reports.

At issue are lawsuits filed by Ohio newspapers seeking the full, unredacted copies of the reports.

The still unsolved case involves seven adults and a teenage boy from the Rhoden family found shot to death at four homes last April near Piketon.

The Columbus Dispatch and the Cincinnati Enquirer have sued for the complete autopsy reports.