University of Idaho sets date to demolish house where 4 students were killed

BOISE, Idaho — University officials have scheduled a date to demolish the Moscow home where four University of Idaho students were killed more than a year ago.

The University of Idaho said in a Thursday news release that Moscow-based Germer Construction, which is providing its services at a reduced cost, will begin the demolition at 7 a.m. Dec. 28, and that it may take several days to clear the site. Bryan Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student, has been accused of stabbing the four students to death in the off-campus home.

The house where Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were killed will be torn down over winter break, a decision the university made to “decrease further impact” on neighboring residents, the release said. The six-bedroom off-campus home was donated to the university earlier this year.

“It is the grim reminder of the heinous act that took place there,” U. of I. President Scott Green said in the news release. “While we appreciate the emotional connection some family members of the victims may have to this house, it is time for its removal and to allow the collective healing of our community to continue.”

Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 and faces four counts of first-degree murder for the November 2022 stabbings. According to the release, Kohberger’s defense team will be visiting the house Thursday and Friday to take photos, measurements and drone footage to prepare for the trial. The trial was delayed indefinitely after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial.

The U. of I. planned to demolish the house in August before the school year started but it was delayed, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.

Kohberger’s trial was initially scheduled for October, but after it was pushed back, the FBI returned to the house to scan the house and create visual models that could be used during the trial.

Three of the victims’ families previously questioned destroying the house before Kohberger’s then-October trial. Gray told the Statesman by email that they would release a statement Friday on the demolition.

“I think all of the families assumed that the King Road address would not be demolished until the trial’s over,” Shanon Gray, attorney for the Goncalves family, previously told the Statesman by email.