The demolition of the home where four University of Idaho students were slain could help the man charged with their murders, according to a former FBI agent.
The off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, where Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were murdered in November 2022 was given to the university earlier this year.
The university said that the defense team for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in connection with the deaths, was given access to the home on Thursday and Friday to gather photos, measurements and other documentation before the house is destroyed. Demolition will begin on December 28, the university said.
Kohberger, who was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University in nearby Pullman when the killings occurred, is charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary. A judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger's behalf earlier this year. He faces the death penalty if convicted, and a trial date has not yet been set.
Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former special agent, says demolishing the home before Kohberger's trial is a mistake.
In an appearance on NewsNation, she said she believes prosecutors aren't against the demolition because they are confident in their case, while Kohberger's attorneys aren't objecting because it means jurors will not be able to view the scene during his trial.
"I think the defense isn't objecting because they don't want those jurors in there to see that scene even though it's cleaned up to the degree it could be," she said.
She told Newsweek that the "best evidence that will remain after 1122 King is destroyed is video imaging."
"While that imaging is state of the art, it won't allow jurors, potentially, to walk from outside, enter, go to the 3rd floor, then the second then exit to understand timing. It won't allow them to truly understand the proximity between rooms. They won't be able to put themselves in the shoes of [surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen] to see her line of sight and angles of vision. They won't be able to go to Bethany's room and understand what she may have heard or not heard."
According to Coffindaffer, the university's decision to demolish the house because it is a "reminder" of the crime that occurred is "poor reasoning that does not balance out the lost value of evidence that will be destroyed."
"I equate it to watching a video if you are house shopping," she said. "You watch the video, then you go to the house, and you say, 'Wait, those stairs are creaking, or that ceiling is lower, or wow, these rooms are so small. There is nothing that can take the place of going to that crime scene. The pros of keeping it standing far outweigh the cons of tearing it down. If I were a juror, I would want to go."
The university has said the decision to tear down the house over the winter break was made "as an attempt to decrease further impact on the students who live in that area." The university is planning to build a memorial garden on the property when the house has gone.
"It is the grim reminder of the heinous act that took place there," Scott Green, the university's president, said in a statement. "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."
The university's announcement noted that the FBI accessed the house in late October to collect additional data that would allow them to create visual aids that could be used in the trial. A gag order imposed in the case bars the prosecution, defense attorneys and law enforcement officials from discussing it.
Goncalves' family objected to the house being destroyed before Kohberger's trial.
"The family has stressed tirelessly to the prosecution and the University of Idaho the importance (evidentiary and emotionally) that the King Road house carries but nobody seems to care enough," the family said in a statement provided to reporter Brian Entin.
""It's like screaming into a void. Nobody is listening and everyone tells you how sorry they are for the decision but the families' opinion isn't a priority."
Chapin's family supports the decision to tear down the house.
"We're supportive of the decision to take down the King Street House -- for the good of the University, its students (including our own kids), and the community of Moscow," they said in a statement, ABC News reported.
Update 12/18/23, 8:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Jennifer Coffindaffer.
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