YouTuber charged $3 for online access to autopsy photos of child murder victim Gannon Stauch

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen confirmed that a woman on the social media site YouTube acquired graphic photos of the autopsy of Gannon Stauch, 11, a boy who lived in the Lorson Ranch neighborhood and whose murdered body was found in Florida three years ago.

RELATED: Letecia Stauch found guilty on all counts; Sentenced to life without parole

Late Thursday afternoon, the online pay site Patreon removed a video containing the photos, saying that content which glorifies or promotes violence is prohibited.

But how the woman acquired the photos, or who may have authorized their release, remained unclear Thursday.

Several national media outlets have reported that the woman, with the YouTube name of Zav Girl, obtained the photos through a Freedom of Information Act request.

However, the medical examiner's office in Santa Rosa County, Florida -- which performed the autopsy -- said Thursday that it has not received nor granted any such request.

The office said that autopsy photos can be given only to close adult relatives of a murder victim, or given out with their permission to someone else.

A spokesman for the El Paso County District Attorney's Office confirmed Thursday that neither the county coroner's office nor the sheriff's office released the photos.

KRDO is also checking with another Florida medical examiner's office -- in the Tampa Bay area of Pinellas County -- to learn if it may have released the photos.

Allen said that he learned last weekend from Stauch's family that the photos were available on an online pay site, but explained that his office has no authority to force the woman to stop selling access to the photos or showing them online.

"I believe there are at least two women doing this," he said. "They use (nicknames) so it's hard for us to know who they really are and how to contact them. In Colorado, you can request and receive a copy of an autopsy report but not the photos."

Allen said that this is the first time he's heard of such an incident, and that it is painful for Gannon's family and others who knew him.

"I don't know if they actually saw the video and I hope they didn't," he said. "I think their only course is to hire an attorney and ask for an injunction as part of a civil case," he said. "But the odds of that being successful are slim."

The woman in question posted a response on her YouTube account -- that has since been removed -- saying that she and others think of autopsy photos "as interesting and informative and are able to view it all in a more scientific, detached way. It’s just one of those things where it depends on the person."

She said that she was open to removing the photos that are part of her video, but questions the motives of people who have criticized her about what the video specifically shows; she added that she is doing only what many others are legally allowed to do.

The woman, who has 88,000 subscribers to her YouTube page, did not reveal in her post how she acquired the photos.

Gannon's stepmother, Letecia Stauch, was convicted of his murder in May and is currently serving life in prison without parole.