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University of Idaho to demolish off-campus home where 4 students were killed

Flowers are seen outside the off-campus home where the quadruple murder took place in Moscow, Idaho.
David Ryder
/
Getty Images
Flowers are seen outside the off-campus home where the quadruple murder took place in Moscow, Idaho.

The University of Idaho plans to demolish the off-campus home where four of its students were killed in November.

"This is a healing step and removes the physical structure where the crime that shook our community was committed," said University of Idaho President Scott Green in a memo on Friday.

The announcement comes as the university and the community of Moscow, Idaho, continue to mourn the four deceased students: Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. On Nov. 13, shortly before the holidays, the students were found dead in a house located on King Street.

The case initially bewildered the local authorities in the small college town for weeks. On Dec. 30, seven weeks after the tragic incident, officials arrested 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger, who is now facing murder charges. As more details are revealed about Kohberger, who has yet to enter a plea, the university is planning a memorial garden for the four slain students.

President Green said in the statement that the University of Idaho accepted an offer from the owner of the off-campus home to give the property to the school following the killings. Demolition, Green said, "removes efforts to further sensationalize the crime scene."

In addition to the memorial garden plans, the university said it's working out how to involve students on "the future development of the property" once the home is demolished.

The university said it has also created a scholarship programs in memory of Kernodle, Chapin and Mogen, and intends to create another for the fourth victim, Goncalves.

"We will never forget Xana, Ethan, Madison and Kaylee, and I will do everything in my power to protect their dignity and respect their memory," Green wrote.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: February 26, 2023 at 12:00 AM EST
An earlier summary for this story said a 28-year-old man killed four students at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. A 28-year-old named Bryan Christopher Kohberger has been arrested and charged for the killings, but has yet to enter a plea.
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a weekend reporter for Digital News, based out of New York. She previously covered education and other national news as a reporting fellow at The New York Times and as the national education reporter at Capital B News. She interned for POLITICO, where she covered criminal justice reform in Florida, and CNN, as a writer for the trends & culture team. Her work has also been published in The Atlantic, HuffPost and The New Republic.