OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
6:28 PM – Thursday, January 22, 2026
Idaho State Police have released about 3,000 previously unseen, gruesome photos from the November 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. The images, depicting blood-splattered walls and furniture, were posted on the department’s website on Tuesday before being quickly taken down the same day.
The Goncalves’ family expressed anger on social media, questioning why the photos were uploaded.
“We got a call at 11:04 am that photos would be released this afternoon,” a post on the family’s Facebook page read. “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.”
“Please be kind & as difficult as it is, place yourself outside of yourself & consume the content as if it were your loved one. Your daughter, your sister, your son, or brother. Murder isn’t entertainment & crime scene photos aren’t content.”
The Idaho State Police released the photos in compliance with public records requests, adhering to Judge Megan Marshall’s October 2025 permanent injunction that mandated redacting any depictions of the victims’ bodies or surrounding blood.
Police promised to re-release the bloody pictures “soon,” but did not say the exact date.
“In making the redactions, the Idaho State Police also chose to follow Judge Marshall’s permanent injunction, which required the City of Moscow to redact areas of the photographs depicting ‘any portion of the bodies of the decedents or the blood immediately surrounding them,’” a statement by the police department read.
”After questions were raised, the records were temporarily removed for further review to ensure the appropriate balance between privacy concerns and public transparency was struck.”
Authorities acknowledged the impact that the release of the photos had on the families.
“This was a tragic case, and we do not take the impact of the crime or the release of records lightly,” the statement said.
About 3,000 photographs revealed the scene of the November 13, 2022, killings by Kohberger, showing blood-soaked walls, floors, bedding, furniture, and clothing where the four students were stabbed in their sleep. The images also showed large puddles of blood on the floor.
Kohberger took a sudden plea deal last July, just weeks before the highly anticipated trial was set to begin. Some of the families were enraged, leaving them forever questioning why he committed the murders.
Kohberger is currently serving four life sentences without the possibility of parole at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
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