Global Courant
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Objections have been raised to it demolish the house where four University of Idaho students were murdered last year, with members of three of the victims’ families saying it should be preserved until after the trial of the man charged with the death.
Shanon Gray, a lawyer for the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the stabbing victims, said the university is ignoring requests from families to keep the house standing until after the attack. trial of Bryan Kohbergerstarting in October, reported the statesman of Idaho.
The bodies of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found last Nov. 13 in the rental home across the street from the University of Idaho campus. Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in connection with their deaths.
The owner of the property donated it to the school after the murders, and the university announced earlier this year that it planned to demolish the house. A demolition date has not yet been set, but university spokesman Jodi Walker said the school wants the house gone before the start of the fall semester.
Gray said in an email to the newspaper that the university asked for the families’ opinions “and then ignored those opinions and pursued their own interests. The house itself has enormous evidential value and is also the largest and one of the most important evidence in the case.”
Members of the Mogen and Kernodle families also opposed the demolition of the property until after the trial, the lawyer said. Gray wasn’t sure what position the Chapin family held. Members of the Chapin, Mogen and Kernodle families did not respond to requests for comment from the paper.
Gray also represents the Goncalves and Mogen families in tort claims filed against the university, the City of Moscow and the Idaho State Police. The move preserves the families’ right to sue government authorities if they wish over their children’s deaths.
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Walker said university officials have had “regular communication” with the victims’ families since they took ownership of the home.
University attorney Kent Nelson said in correspondence with Gray that neither the prosecution nor the defense have objected to the demolition of the property. He told Gray the university needed a “convincing argument,” citing relevant case law or rules to deviate from the demolition plans. Nelson requested a response by June 23.
Gray said he received Nelson’s correspondence on June 22 and did not say whether he had met the deadline for a response.
