The demolition crew began work minutes before 1122 a.m. A few minutes later, the building at 13 King Road in the quiet rural community of Moscow was history. But it will take much more to forget what happened inside on November 2022, <>, when four university students were killed. The demolition of the house, the scene of the worst crime the state has ever experienced, has created a controversy between the families of the victims and the University of Idaho, which owns the residence.
Scott Green, the president of the University of Idaho, confirmed that he was moving forward with the decision in a statement issued a couple of weeks ago. "[The house] is a horrific reminder of the terrible events that occurred there ... While we recognize that some family members of the victims may have an emotional connection to this house, it is time for it to be removed to allow our collective healing to continue."
The owner of the residence, located near the university's campus, donated it to the institution this year. Education officials said in February that they planned to demolish it. Since then, a wall has been built to prevent people unconnected with the investigation into the murders of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, all between the ages of 20 and 21. Two other people were inside the residence that night, but were not injured in the incident.
The FBI, the federal investigative agency, was collecting evidence at the residence until late October. The university explained that part of the federal agents' task was to collect enough photographs and visual material, with the help of several scanners, to reproduce the space in a trial as yet unscheduled.
Bryan Kohberger is the prime suspect in the four murders. Zach Wilkinson (AP)
Authorities allowed the defense of Bryan Kohberger, the sole suspect in the multiple murder, into the home in mid-December. The alleged killer, a 28-year-old doctoral student in criminology, was arrested late last year after hundreds of police officers joined a manhunt to find the person responsible for the stabbings. He was arrested at his parents' home in Philadelphia, more than <>,<> miles from Idaho. Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to all four counts of first-degree murder he faces. Police have not found the murder weapon so far.
The case was a headache for several police departments until the cooperation of authorities in different counties made it possible to track a Hyundai Elantra almost the entire width of the country. The vehicle was caught on security cameras near 1122 King Road three times on the November night the killings occurred.
The Prosecutor's Office has in its possession another video in which the vehicle is seen speeding in the direction of Pullman, Washington, where the university Kohberger attended is located, Washington State. A cell tower near his home recorded activity on his cell phone at nine in the morning. About five hours had passed since the killings had been committed.
Three of the four victims' families had asked the university to preserve the residence until Kohberger's trial was held. Shannon Gray, the attorney for the Goncalves family, said university officials showed indifference to the family members by giving the green light to the demolition. "The house itself has tremendous value as evidence, as it is the largest and most important piece in the case," she said in an email to the Idaho Stateman in July. The Mogen and Kernodle families also rejected the destruction.
The house, however, has become a spooky presence at the heart of a university community. "It's in an area densely populated by students. Many of them have to see it and endure it, although some have expressed to us how it would help them in their grieving process to have it removed," a university spokeswoman, Jodi Walker, said recently.
The presence of the students is a major factor in a case that has kept the United States on tenterhooks. Prosecutors recently asked for the trial to take place in six weeks in the summer of 2024, when most of the university is on vacation. This will allow the city to accommodate the huge number of journalists who will arrive to follow the process. At the same time, it will prevent students from reliving the traumatic events.
It has taken only a few hours to tear down the wooden construction. The company in charge of the operation has said that the clearing of the land will take a few days due to the low temperatures in that area of Idaho. Walker assures that grass will be planted at the site. There are no plans to erect a memorial to the victims at this time, though the university has not ruled out doing so at a later date.
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