True Crime YouTuber apologizes to family of 11-year-old murder victim after selling access to his autopsy photos

• A true crime YouTuber is apologizing after charging $3 to see a murder victim's autopsy photos on Patreon.
• Zav Girl said she got the pictures of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch through a public records request.

A true crime YouTuber is "looking into sensitivity training" after landing herself in hot water for sharing autopsy photos of a young murder victim on her Patreon.

In a video apology posted on Friday, the content creator known as Zav Girl apologized to the family of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch, who was stabbed to death by his stepmother in 2020, for sharing his photos, which she said she received after filing a public records request about his death.

Leticia Stauch was found guilty of the crime in May after a jury rejected her claim that she was insane when she attacked him, NBC News reported.

"I'm sorry I let you down," Zav Girl said, speaking to the family of the victim in her video. "I cannot imagine the pain Gannon's family has gone through. My anger over what happened to Gannon is the reason I started following the case."

The true crime content creator has posted several videos related to the crime, as well as other high-profile incidents like the death of four college students in Idaho and the Watts family murders. She charged $3 for a subcription to her Patreon, which allowed subscribers to view the records she had received from the request about the Stauch murder, Insider previously reported.

Zav Girl added in her video: "I'm not this evil, heartless person, like many are saying but I'm also doing a lot of self reflecting and I'm looking into sensitivity training."

Zav Girl did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Viewers were largely unreceptive to Zav Girl's apology, with commenters calling the incident a "cautionary tale" for true crime channels seeking to share the stories of families impacted by such tragedies.

"The fact that you didn't already know that selling photos of a murdered child is depraved and heartless is REALLY alarming," one wrote.

"And this ladies and gents, is how you lose the support of all true crime channels and their viewers," another added.

Zav Girl's Patreon has since been removed from the site. She has not posted new content since her apology video.