BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Relatives of two of the four University of Idaho students murdered in 2022 have asked a judge to prevent the release of graphic crime scene…
Relatives of two of the four University of Idaho students murdered in 2022 have asked a judge to prevent the release of graphic crime scene photos and videos, saying that the images are traumatizing and making them public would violate their privacy.
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life without parole last month for the stabbing murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho.
Even if crime scene images are somehow redacted, it’s still traumatizing for the families, Ethan’s mother, Stacy Chapin, wrote in a court document.
“They are heartbreaking and continue to reopen a wound that has yet to heal,” she wrote.
The criminal case drew worldwide attention, and the Moscow Police Department received hundreds of requests to release investigatory records. Idaho law generally allows for the sealing of investigation records to be lifted once a criminal investigation is complete.
After Kohberger’s sentencing, the city of Moscow responded to one such request for public records by releasing photos and videos taken by law enforcement at the crime scene, blurring out the bodies of the slain students as well as the faces of other victims and witnesses who talked to police outside the home.
