Ga. judge says authorities can’t release photos of slain hiker to Hustler Magazine

Ga. judge bans release of photos of slain hiker

ATLANTA — A Georgia judge has barred authorities from releasing crime scene and autopsy photos of a 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate slain while hiking.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Dan Coursey said Wednesday releasing the photos of Meredith Emerson to Hustler Magazine would cause “irreparable harm.”

Authorities had already announced they would refuse the porn publication’s request for photos of the 24-year-old, whose decapitated body was found in January 2008 in the north Georgia woods.

But her family filed a lawsuit against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to obtain a court order barring the photos’ release. Hustler had requested the photos from the bureau.