Idaho killings home demolished, despite objections from families

MOSCOW, Idaho (NewsNation) — Demolition of the home where four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed last year is complete, despite objections from the victims' families.

Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were found dead inside an off-campus rental home in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

The demolition started around 9:30 a.m. ET, despite some insisting the house is a crucial piece of evidence. At least two of the victims' families have argued that it should be postponed until after the trial of suspect Bryan Kohberger.

Neither the defense nor the prosecution are contesting the demolition this week. The university is trying to complete it before students resume classes after the winter break.

Detailed documentation, including extensive 3D imaging, photos and measurements has been compiled from inside the property.

Critics argue the crime scene should be preserved in anticipation of a potential jury visit during the trial.

The Goncalves and Kernodle families have denounced the demolition as "madness," emphasizing the physical structure may answer questions about access points, views, vantages and audio capabilities inside.

“If the home is demolished, will all of these questions be able to be answered later on with diagrams/models/technology, etc., if they become an issue at trial?" the families wrote in a joint statement. "If not then leave the home alone!"

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a NewsNation law and justice contributor, asserts demolishing the house before Kohberger’s trial is “a mistake,”

"Once you demolish it, you can never get it back. That house, even though it’s been altered, still can answer a lot of questions for jurors. It can answer what those stairs sound like. It could answer a question of Dylan Mortensen: What was her angles when she saw the intruder. It could answer the proximity of that house to that Ring camera that recorded very important information that we have in the probable cause affidavit. So I think it will be a true mistake if this house is demolished," she said.

The University of Idaho contents the house serves as a painful reminder.

"It’s really just a daily reminder of the horrific act that happened there and being able to bring that house down brings closure to students in that area," said Jodi Walker, the university's executive director of communications.

The owner of the home donated it to the university after the murders, and it has been under guard ever since.

Kohberger remains incarcerated at the Latah County Jail less than two miles away. Prosecutors have asked the judge for a summer trial date, strategically planned when most students will be away.