Media companies plan to appeal court’s decision in the Betts’ records case

Attorneys for Dayton Daily News, WHIO-TV and multiple other news organizations put the Supreme Court of Ohio on notice of a planned appeal in the legal fight for the release of the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek school records of Connor Betts, the man who fatally shot nine people in Dayton’s Oregon District.

The Notice of Appeal filing comes weeks after the Ohio Second Appellate District Court’s decision in which the justices sided with the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek school district’s move to withhold the release of Betts’ records.

Betts, 23, injured dozens in addition to the nine people he fatally shot along East Fifth Street on Aug. 4. The mass shooting ended after about 30 seconds when officers fatally shot Betts.

Former classmates of Betts told reporters that his behavior in high school raised red flags that, had it been properly addressed, might have prevented the shooting.

Once the notice is entered into the record with the Ohio Supreme Court, attorneys representing the media companies will have 40 days to file the merits for the appeal, according to Christopher Hollon, attorney for Dayton Daily News and WHIO-TV.

Other national media companies, including CNN and The New York Times, are plaintiffs in the case.

The second appellate court’s three-judge panel concluded Bellbrook-Sugarcreek schools “does not have a clear legal duty to release” Betts’ records because the records being sought are not public records under Ohio law.