Idaho Judge Blocks Release of Graphic Kohberger Crime Scene Photos

BOISE, Idaho — A recent ruling by an Idaho judge has put a halt to the full public release of some graphic photos taken by investigators following the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students by Bryan Kohberger.

Second District Judge Megan Marshall issued the order this Wednesday, citing an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, particularly concerning the potential distress to victims’ families should these “incredibly disturbing” images circulate online. The judge mandated that the city of Moscow must redact portions of images depicting victims’ bodies or the immediate surrounding blood.

While acknowledging the public’s interest in investigative records, Judge Marshall confirmed that other photos, videos, and documents related to the high-profile case, including footage of distraught friends on the morning the bodies were discovered, can still be released.

The decision comes after Kohberger was sentenced to life without parole in July for the stabbing murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus rental home. Family members of Mogen and Chapin had specifically requested that parts of the crime scene photos and videos remain private, describing the images as invasive and traumatizing.

Despite the criminal case being closed, the Moscow Police Department had received numerous requests for investigatory records, leading the city to release some materials post-sentencing, with redactions already in place for bodies and faces of witnesses. Judge Marshall reiterated that “little is to be gained by the public in seeing the decedents’ bodies, the blood soaked sheets, blood spatter or other death-scene depictions,” emphasizing the profound emotional distress such images inflict on loved ones, while having minor effect on those fixated on conspiracies.

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