It’s been over three years since Bryan Kohberger savagely murdered four college students in their off-campus home in Idaho.
The murderer pled guilty instead of facing trial, so there’s still a great deal that we don’t know about that fateful night in 2022.
Now, new crime scene photos have been released by the Idaho State Police, and in addition to providing new information, they’ve created a surprising controversy.
The photos, which can be viewed in the video below, depict a gory, blood-spattered scene in which multiple life-or-death struggles took place.
We see blood spilled on walls, beds, and floors. And in one of the most chilling images, a bloody handprint can be seen on a nightstand.
Needless to say, these photos are deeply disturbing.
And one of the victim’s families is criticizing police not only for releasing the photos but for failing to properly warn those who are most closely connected to these horrifying crimes.
“We got a call at 11:04am that photos would be released this afternoon,” relatives of Kaylee Goncalves wrote in a Facebook post.
“By the time the call ended (12 minutes later) the photos had already been released (likely they had been available before the call we just didn’t know it yet). That’s the ‘heads up’ we received.”
The Goncalves family went on to honor Kaylee’s memory while lashing out at those who have exploited her in death:
“Kaylee Jade, I am so sorry that this has happened to you. I am so sorry that people who never even knew you, now post about you, suggesting things about your life that are so untrue. We will never quit fighting for you,” they wrote.
“The best thing about all of this is that you are in Heaven and you have no idea of the hate and ugliness. I love you, Kaylee Jade.”
Kohberger murdered four University of Idaho students: Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, all of them in their early twenties.
One roommate, Dylan Mortensen, survived and is credited with helping investigators apprehend Kohberger.
She told police that on the night of the murders, she was awakened by a “commotion” and saw a masked man in the hallway of her home.
“And that’s when I saw this guy,” she said.
“He was not insanely tall, but he was wearing all black and this mask that was covering his forehead and his mouth. And then I locked the door. I didn’t know what to do.”
Neither Mortensen nor the families of the other victims have publicly responded to the release of the photos.