A hearing is scheduled for Thursday to determine if certain crime scene photos from the 2022 murders of four Idaho students, allegedly by Bryan Kohberger, should remain permanently restricted from public access. This comes after two victims’ families filed a lawsuit against the city of Moscow.
Madison Mogen’s and Ethan Chapin’s families have requested a permanent injunction to prevent the release of specific photos and body camera footage to the public.
They argue that releasing certain images, particularly those of the bedrooms where the students were slain, constitutes an “unwarranted invasion of their privacy.”
Mogen and Chapin, along with Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle, were murdered by Kohberger, who is now serving four life sentences.
Attorney Leander James, representing the families, mentioned on “CUOMO” that there is a clear precedent in Idaho and elsewhere against distributing death scene images. He stated, “I believe those photographs should not be released to the public.”
James also emphasized that the case has not gone to trial, meaning these images were not used as evidence and remain outside the public domain, reinforcing that they should be considered private.
Earlier this month, after the release of hundreds of case files that included descriptions of the disturbing scene discovered by officers, a judge imposed a temporary restraining order to prevent further release of police records.
Idaho Second District Judge Marshall halted the city from releasing any images, audio, or video showing inside Mogen’s bedroom until a full hearing on the injunction.
The judge found that “major portions” of what was released did not constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. But he said portions of videos and photographs in their redacted form, specifically unreleased bodycam video, could be an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
The city said that though the restraining order only applies to Mogen’s bedroom, it wouldn’t release photos or videos showing inside any of the victims’ bedrooms until the matter was decided by the court.
‘s Brittany Donovan contributed to this story.
