[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Pike Cty. Coroner’s Office, Slip Opinion No. 2017-Ohio-8988.] NOTICE This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published. SLIP OPINION NO. 2017-OHIO-8988 THE STATE EX REL. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER v. PIKE COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE. THE STATE EX REL. GATEHOUSE MEDIA OHIO HOLDINGS II, INC., D.B.A. COLUMBUS DISPATCH, ET AL. v. PIKE COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE ET AL. [Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Pike Cty. Coroner’s Office, Slip Opinion No. 2017-Ohio-8988.] Mandamus—Coroner’s records—R.C. 313.10(A)(2)(e)—Information redacted from requested autopsy reports is exempt from public disclosure while investigation is ongoing because requested reports are “[r]ecords of a deceased individual” within meaning of R.C. 313.10(A)(2)(e) and redactions were made to protect “confidential law enforcement investigatory records” within meaning of R.C. 313.10(A)(2)(e)—Writ, statutory damages, and attorney fees denied. (Nos. 2016-1115 and 2016-1153—Submitted July 11, 2017—Decided December 14, 2017.) SUPREME COURT OF OHIO IN MANDAMUS. ______________________ O’CONNOR, C.J. {¶ 1} In these related original actions, relators, Cincinnati Enquirer (“the Enquirer”) and GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings II, Inc., d.b.a. Columbus Dispatch, and reporter Holly R. Zachariah (collectively, “the Dispatch”), filed complaints seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the release of unredacted reports on the autopsies of eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families who were murdered in Pike County in April 2016. Separately, the Enquirer moved for oral argument and the Dispatch moved to compel access to the unredacted autopsy reports filed under seal with this court. And the Dispatch and the Enquirer both seek an award of attorney fees and statutory damages for what they characterize as the untimely production of the redacted autopsy reports. We deny the writ, the motions, and the requests for attorney fees and statutory damages. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY {¶ 2} On April 22, 2016, eight people were found deceased in Pike County, Ohio, all of whom were members of the Rhoden or Gilley families. Over the next two days, the chief deputy coroner of Hamilton County conducted autopsies on the decedents. Respondent Pike County Coroner’s Office (“PCCO”) received the final autopsy reports on July 22, 2016. {¶ 3} The Dispatch made a verbal request to PCCO and respondent David Kessler, M.D., the Pike County coroner, to inspect the final autopsy reports, pursuant to R.C. 149.43 and 313.10. PCCO denied the request. {¶ 4} On July 26, 2016, the Dispatch then e-mailed a public-records request for the final autopsy reports to PCCO and the attorney general, again citing R.C. 149.43 and 313.10. On the same day, ...
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