Thomas Condon believed he had permission to take photographs of autopsied bodies inside the Hamilton County morgue, defense attorneys told jurors Wednesday during opening arguments in his trial.

        All morgue employees — including Coroner Carl L. Parrott Jr. — knew Mr. Condon and knew what he was doing, attorneys contended.

Condon

Tobias

        The 29-year-old Mount Auburn professional photographer is accused of taking illegal pictures of bodies at the morgue. A co-defendant, Dr. Jonathan Tobias, is accused of helping him.

        Mr. Condon, who considers his photographs art, told officials about his still-photography plans when he agreed to update a training video for the morgue, said his attorney, H. Louis Sirkin.

        But prosecutors told jurors during the 90-minute hearing Wednesday that Mr. Condon never had permission to take photos of autopsied bodies he'd posed with props. And he repeatedly gained access to the morgue and the bodies even though the legitimate reason that initially allowed into the morgue fell through, prosecutors said.

        Mr. Condon “had his own agenda,” said Assistant Prosecutor Judith Mullen. “He wanted to do what he wanted to do.”

        Dr. Tobias, a 31-year-old forensic pathology fellow working at the morgue, helped Mr. Condon gain access to the bodies and was present when he took his photos, prosecutors said.

        They also contended that Dr. Tobias gave Mr. Condon crime scene photographs that were the property of the morgue.

        Both men face multiple charges of gross abuse of a corpse, and breaking and entering. Dr. Tobias, who lives in the West End, faces an additional charge of theft in office. All are felony counts.

        Two prosecution witnesses testified Wednesday that they were morally offended by the photos Mr. Condon took.

        “At first I felt disbelief, then I felt sorry for the people used in this way and for their families. I was mortified,” said Brent Ekre of Liberty Township.

        Mr. Ekre works for Robin Imaging Services, a film processing agency that develops negatives for professional photographers and medical facilities.

        On Jan. 8, Mr. Ekre processed negatives Mr. Condon had dropped off and saw some of the autopsied bodies posed with a key, sheet music, an apple and a snail shell.

        Defense attorneys told jurors Wednesday that Dr. Tobias was a “fall guy” for morgue higher-ups.

        Dr. Tobias was “the best fellow that organization ever had,” said his attorney Marc Mezibov.

        “When the stuff hit the fan over these photographs, not only was he the least in the know, he was determined to be the first to go,” said Mr. Mezibov.

        The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, resumes todayat 9:30 a.m. before Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel.

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