Thomas Condon and Dr. Jonathan Tobias will stand trial together, a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge ruled Friday.

        Defense attorneys asked Judge Norbert Nadel to separate the trials of the photographer and the pathologist, respectively, because the cases might confuse a jury.

        Mr. Condon allegedly took photographs of 12 corpses in various stages of autopsy over a six-month period. The pictures showed corpses posed with objects such as a book, an old photograph, a snail, sheet music and other props.

Condon

Tobias

        Dr. Tobias is accused of giving Mr. Condon access to the bodies.

        Both face multiple counts of felony and misdemeanor abuse of a corpse.

        On Friday, Judge Nadel also denied the defense's renewed request for a hearing to review grand jury testimony.

        Dr. Tobias' lawyers, Marc Mezibov and Christian Jenkins, again contended that public statements made by Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen cast their client in a negative light and made it impossible for a grand jury to be impartial.

        They asked for a copy of the suicide letter left by bereaved widow Robin Melton, who killed herself not long after viewing a picture of her husband, Perry, who was killed Nov. 9 in a work-related accident.

        “The prosecution has said "No way' to the defense request for a copy (of the suicide note),” Mr. Mezibov said.

        The document contains a statement in which Mrs. Melton mentions photographs taken of her husband and their part in her decision to take her own life.

        “The prosecution is going to tie this to extreme grief,” Mr. Mezibov said. “Why aren't we entitled to the note?”

        He added that the picture Mrs. Melton saw of her husband was not one of those taken by Mr. Condon or by Dr. Tobias, who took crime scene photographs as part of his job.

        Blame for her death does not rest with Dr. Tobias, Mr. Mezibov said. Rather, it rests with the prosecutor's office for showing her the picture and her civil attorney for urging her to see it.

        Attorneys for Mr. Condon also are asking dismissal of the misdemeanor charges because they consider them incorrect. A ruling on those requests is pending.

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