Hustler loses bid for crime scene photos

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DECATUR, Ga., March 11 (UPI) -- A Georgia judge blocked the release of crime scene pictures of a woman's nude, decapitated body to Hustler magazine.

Hustler's effort to obtain pictures of Meredith Emerson, 24, a University of Georgia graduate abducted while hiking and killed in January 2008, outraged lawmakers and the woman's family.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Dan Coursey Wednesday ruled release of the photos could cause irreparable harm in response to a suit filed by Emerson's family, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It followed a legislative committee's approval of a measure that would have prevented the pictures from being released through the state's public disclosure law.

"The death scene photographs are some of the most graphic and horrible photographs I've ever seen in my 37 years in law enforcement," Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said.