Times-Call (Longmont): A Weld County District Court judge has set a deadline for the coroner to file a hearing notice in his request to seal the autopsy reports for Shanann Watts and her children.

If a hearing notice isn’t filed by Nov. 2, Judge Todd Taylor said he would deem the request “abandoned” and subsequently deny it, according to a court order filed Friday.
Taylor also has approved requests to intervene in the hearing from both Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke and Watts’ defense attorneys.

The corner’s office filed a status report in response on Friday, saying it has found available dates and times for the court and will confer with the necessary parties to set a hearing.

The Weld County Coroner on Oct. 15 filed a petition to seal the autopsies of 34-year-old Shanann Watts, and her two children, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste, citing Rourke’s arguments that they could taint potential jurors or witnesses who have not yet been interviewed.

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