The demolition team began work minutes before 8 a.m. A few minutes later, the building at 1122 King Road in the quiet rural community of Moscow was history. But it will take much longer to forget what happened there on November 13, 2022, when four university students were murdered. The demolition of the home, the scene of the worst crime the state has ever seen, has sparked controversy between the victims' families and the University of Idaho, the residence's owner.
University of Idaho President Scott Green confirmed he was moving forward with the decision in a statement released several weeks ago. “[La casa] “It is a terrible reminder of the terrible events that took place there (…) Although we recognize that some family members of the victims may have an emotional connection to this house, it is time to remove it “to enable our collective healing to continue,” said the institution’s president.
The owner of the dormitory, which is located near the university campus, donated it to the facility this year. Education officials reported in February that they were planning a demolition. A wall has since been erected to prevent the entry of people unrelated to the investigation into the murders of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, all between 20 and 21 years old. Two other people were in the residence that night but were not injured in the incident.
The FBI, the federal investigative agency, collected evidence at the residence until the end of October. The university explained that part of the federal agents' job was to use multiple scanners to collect enough photos and footage to reproduce the room in an undated attempt.
Bryan Kohberger is the main suspect for committing the four murders. Zach Wilkinson (AP)
In mid-December, authorities allowed the defense attorney for Bryan Kohberger, the sole suspect in the multiple crimes, to enter the home. The suspected killer, a 28-year-old criminology graduate student, 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 four thousand miles from Idaho. Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to the four counts of first-degree murder he faces. The police have not yet found the murder weapon.
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The case caused headaches for several police departments until the cooperation of authorities from different districts made it possible to track a Hyundai Elantra almost across the country. The vehicle was captured on surveillance cameras three times near 1122 King Road on the November night the murders occurred.
Prosecutors have another video showing the vehicle traveling at high speed toward Pullman, Washington, home to the university that Kohberger attended in Washington state. A cell tower near his home registered activity on his cell phone at 9 a.m. About five hours had passed since the murders.
Three of the four victims' families had asked the university to preserve the residence until Kohberger's trial. Shannon Gray, the lawyer for the Goncalves family, asserted that the university authorities showed indifference to the relatives by giving the green light to the demolition. “The house itself has enormous probative value as it is the largest and most important piece in the case,” the attorney said in an email to the Idaho Statesman newspaper in July. The Mogen and Kernodle families also rejected the destruction.
But the house has become a shadowy presence at the heart of a university community. “It is in an area that is densely populated with students. Many of them have to see and endure it, although some have expressed to us how removing it would help them in their grieving process,” a university spokeswoman, Jodi Walker, said recently.
The students' presence is a major factor in a case that is gripping the United States. Prosecutors recently asked that the trial 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 traveling to follow the trial. At the same time, it prevents the students from reliving the traumatic events.
The demolition of the wooden structure only took a few hours. The company in charge of the operation said that due to the low temperatures in this area of Idaho, cleaning the site will take a few days. Walker assures that grass will be planted on the site. There are currently no plans to erect a memorial to the victims, but the university does not rule out doing so at a later date.
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