Bryan Kohberger Investigators Return to Murder House in New Turn in Case

Investigators in the Bryan Kohberger quadruple murder case are reportedly returning to the home where the alleged crime occurred, presenting a new turn in the ongoing case.

Last November, four University of Idaho students were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus apartment: Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Xana Kernodle, 20. Kohberger was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the crime as well as one count of felony burglary. Kohberger has maintained his innocence in the case and his legal team has continued to dispute much of the evidence provided by the state. Kohberger previously stood silent during his arraignment, prompting the judge to enter not-guilty pleas for each of the charges.

The report comes several months after University of Idaho President Scott Green said that demolition of the home where the four victims were murdered would be delayed.

"Investigators are returning to the house where the murders happened in Moscow, Idaho. The FBI will be back today to construct visual and audio exhibits and a physical model of the home. Plywood we have seen on doors and windows will be removed this morning," Brian Entin of NewsNationNow wrote on X, formerly Twitter on Tuesday morning.

In a subsequent tweet, Entin wrote that this move is "somewhat unexpected," due to the fact that it was previously agreed that the house would be torn down. And it likely would have been torn down already had the victims family members not fought it. I'm told family members got a heads up FBI would be back today," Entin wrote.

"We know that every action and decision around this horrific incident is painful and invokes emotions. That is why every decision we have made this far is with the families of the victims and our students in mind," Green said in July. "While we look forward to removing this grim reminder of this tragedy, we feel holding until October is the right thing to do."

According to Greene, the court released the home and neither the defense nor the prosecution has expressed opposition to demolishing the home.

The FBI directed Newsweek to a recent statement issued by the University of Idaho which said, "Because the trial of Bryan Kohberger is delayed indefinitely, investigators and the prosecution recently asked University of Idaho for access to the King Road house where a quadruple homicide took place nearly a year ago. With the new extended timeline, the FBI is on scene today, Tuesday, Oct. 31, and Wednesday, Nov. 1, to get documentation to construct visual and audio exhibits and a physical model of the home where Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were killed."

"Plywood securing the windows and door of the house will be removed this morning and a specialized team from the FBI will begin work immediately. Upon completion, the house will be re-secured. While the university still intends to demolish the home, it will not be done this semester. The prosecutor's office has notified the families of the victims and survivors, as well as the defense," the statement added.

Last week, Kohberger appeared in court for a hearing where his lawyers argued to have a grand jury indictment thrown away, but this was denied by the judge overseeing the case.

However, during last week's hearing, Judge John Judge announced that cameras would be allowed in the courtroom for some upcoming hearings.

"I'm not going to ban cameras in the courtroom, but I need more control over what cameras are doing," Judge reportedly said. "I know I can only control so much, and that's why I continue to urge people to be patient and have some dignity and some restraint."

Newsweek reached out to Kohberger's lawyer Anne Taylor via email for comment.