Idaho Judge Blocks Release of Graphic Crime Scene Photos in University Murder Case

Fri Oct 03 2025 03:25:22 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

An Idaho judge has ruled to restrict the public release of gruesome photos related to the murders of four University of Idaho students by Bryan Kohberger, prioritizing the victims' families' privacy while balancing public interest.

In a recent ruling, Second District Judge Megan Marshall blocked the release of certain graphic images from crime scenes involving Bryan Kohberger, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of four University of Idaho students. The judge emphasized the emotional distress such images would cause the victims’ families while acknowledging the public's right to investigate records. While portions of images showing victims were mandated to be blacked out, other investigation records remain accessible.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge is blocking the release of some graphic photos taken by investigators after Bryan Kohberger killed four University of Idaho students in 2022.

Second District Judge Megan Marshall made the ruling Wednesday, stating that the dissemination of 'incredibly disturbing' photos across the internet—where the victims’ families might inadvertently see them—is an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

She ordered the city of Moscow to redact portions of the images that show any part of the victims’ bodies or the blood surrounding them.

However, the judge acknowledged the public's interest in viewing investigation records and permitted the release of other photos, videos, and documents related to the case, including footage showing the distraught friends of the victims during the discovery of the bodies.

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 in Moscow, Idaho.

Family members of two victims, Mogen and Chapin, had petitioned the judge to keep certain crime scene images away from public access, citing that the photographs are invasive and can cause trauma.

The criminal case attracted widespread attention, and the Moscow Police Department received numerous requests for the release of investigatory records. Generally, Idaho law allows for the sealing of investigation records to be lifted once a criminal investigation concludes.

Following Kohberger’s sentencing, the city of Moscow responded to one such public records request by releasing some photos and videos taken by law enforcement at the crime scene, ensuring that the bodies of the students and the faces of other victims and witnesses were blurred out.

Judge Marshall pointed out that 'There is little to be gained by the public in seeing the decedents’ bodies, blood-soaked sheets, blood spatter or other death-scene depictions,' underscoring the extreme emotional distress these images would inflict on the families. She further remarked, 'the murder investigation and the criminal case are closed. Releasing these records will have minor effect upon those who continue to be perplexed by the facts or fixated on unfounded conspiracies whereas it has and will continue to have profound effects upon the decedents’ loved ones.'