Some family members of the University of Idaho students killed over a year ago opposed the university's tearing down the house where the murders happened, USA Today reports. The university demolished the house in Moscow on Thursday. The owner gave the house to the university this year. The planned demolition was announced in February. It could take several days to clear the site after the demolition, the school said. "The decision to tear down the home during winter break was made ... to decrease further impact on the students who live in that area," the school said. The suspect in the killings is Bryan Kohberger, 28, who investigators say they have linked to the crimes through DNA and other evidence.
Some victim family members argued that the house should have been preserved until Kohberger's trial is finished. Two families asked the prosecution and the university to "stop this madness," arguing that there are several questions about the night of the murders that keeping the house intact could answer. The families said the house should stand to address questions of the suspect's and the surviving roommates' vantage points and paths of travel that night. Prosecutors told the university they don't believe they will need further evidence from the house, as they have already gathered measurements needed to create illustrative exhibits for a jury. Kohberger's defense team was allowed access to the house this month to take measurements and photos. Prosecutors have proposed summer 2024 dates for Kohberger's murder trial so as not to disrupt local schools with a massive media presence at and around the courthouse.