Should the autopsy report from Dana Bailey case be released? Centre County judge rules no
A Centre County judge on Tuesday denied public access to the autopsy report of Dana J. Bailey, whose 1987 killing remains unsolved after nearly four decades.
Centre County Judge Julia Rater, who spent upward of 35 minutes reviewing the autopsy report in private, said there is overwhelming evidence that releasing the file could substantially hinder the ongoing homicide investigation.
The hearing came after the quasi-judicial state agency tasked with enforcing Pennsylvania’s open records law said in April that Centre County was required to provide the report to an author who requested it.
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna then asked the judge to keep the report private.
“I’m trying to answer questions the people of State College have wanted answered for 39 years,” author Derek Sherwood said Wednesday in a text message to the Centre Daily Times. “We still don’t know basic things like how Dana’s apartment was entered, whether or not police have the murder weapon, or how many times she was stabbed. Foundational stuff that might help generate new leads and find the killer.”
Part of Tuesday’s proceedings were closed. Sherwood, who requested the autopsy report, and a Centre Daily Times reporter were asked by the judge to leave the courtroom before State College police detective Stephen Bosak testified about the report.
Few new details came from the public portion of the hearing, though Centre County Solicitor Elizabeth Dupuis acknowledged the county coroner’s office does not possess the autopsy report.
Dupuis said Wednesday she believes the search for the report was done in good faith, but was complicated since the record is nearly 40 years old.
The county had previously fought the release of the report by citing exemptions related to criminal investigations and the federal law restricting release of medical information. In its determination, the Office of Open Records said the county’s arguments had no merit.
“Pennsylvania courts have repeatedly found that autopsy reports are subject to public access, and the County has not presented any credible argument or controlling case law showing how the Coroner’s Act is superseded by HIPAA, a federal law,” an appeals officer wrote.
Bailey, a 21-year-old Penn State senior from Philipsburg, was found dead during spring break in March 1987. Borough police said she was fatally stabbed inside her South Allen Street apartment.
Investigators previously said Bailey was likely stalked by someone in a neighboring, vacant building. Retired district judge Tom Jordan, who was the original lead detective, said in 2007 that the killer broke into the apartment through a kitchen window, according to CDT archives.
He said there were signs of commotion in her living room and that Bailey was found dead in her bedroom. Retired detective Ralph Ralston said she was left naked and bound by rope.
Borough police have interviewed hundreds of people and had the FBI develop a profile of the potential killer, who was believed to be a white man, likely in his mid-20s and a pornography buff with a sexual fixation.
A former State College police lieutenant told the Centre Daily Times in 2019 that there were no meaningful leads in the case since 2003, when investigators received an anonymous letter that gave them pause but was not strong enough to implicate anyone.
A message left Wednesday with the department was not immediately returned.
“After all these years it seems more disclosure would be more helpful than continued secrecy,” Sherwood said.
He is represented by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press attorney Paula Knudsen Burke, who also represents the CDT in unrelated litigation involving access to Penn State police overtime records.