An attorney is pushing for stricter laws on child autopsy photos being released after a vlogger allegedly sold disturbing photos of slain child, Gannon Stauch, for $3 each.
In an interview with NewsNation, lawyer Matt Hinson said he wants both state and federal laws to change in order to prevent the incident from happening again. As it stands, some states allow the release of children’s autopsy photos, while other states do not.
“There needs to be some legislation at both the state and federal level to correct these issues,” Hinson said.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, YouTuber “Zav Girl” reportedly filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get the photos from 11-year-old Gannon’s autopsy and then charged her subscribers to view a video she created from the files she received.
The video created a surge of criticism, much of it condemning the video for the callousness it showed to Gannon Stauch’s family.
In January 2020, Gannon was stabbed, shot, beaten, and killed by his stepmother, Letecia Stauch, inside their Colorado home.
Letecia Stauch then took great measures to cover up her crimes by blaming numerous imaginary people and driving to Florida, where she tossed Gannon’s body, stuffed inside a suitcase, over a bridge in Pace.
A Colorado jury convicted Stauch of first-degree murder and related charges earlier this year. She’s since been taken to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, where she will serve life without parole.
Hinson has personal experience with children’s autopsy photos and the anguish it causes families. He currently represents the family of Tristyn Bailey, a 13-year-old stabbed over 100 times in 2021 by a classmate.
Hinson helped the Bailey family in their efforts to amend the law in Florida after numerous public requests for the crime scene photos.
“The bigger picture here is not just what’s happening in a state-by-state perspective, but what are we doing as a society to protect these children and protect the victims’ families in this situation,” Hinson said.
“I think we would probably consider the holy grail of victim advocacy to be getting the federal government and the legislature in Congress to do something about protecting these (children) on a larger scale.”
Hinson said the source behind releasing Gannon’s autopsy pictures remains uncertain, but he noted that it appears they were made public after a records request submitted in Colorado.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a Patreon representative confirmed that ZavGirl’s account was removed from the platform.
“We removed ‘Zav Girl’ from Patreon for violations of our Community Guidelines for Violent and Graphic Content. To create a safe environment for users, Patreon does not allow content glorifying or promoting violence of any kind,” a spokesperson told NewsNation.
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[Feature Photo: Gannon Stauch via Landen Hiott/Handout]
