ATLANTA -- A Georgia judge barred state authorities Wednesday from releasing the crime scene and autopsy photos of a 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate who was slain while hiking.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Dan Coursey said Wednesday releasing the photos of Meredith Emerson to Hustler Magazine would cause "irreparable harm."

Authorities had already announced they would refuse the porn publication's request for photos of the 24-year-old, whose decapitated body was found in January 2008 in the north Georgia woods.

But her family filed a lawsuit against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to obtain a court order barring the photos' release. Hustler had requested the photos from the GBI.