Idaho Murder Case Victim'’ Families Sue Moscow City Over Release Of Crime Scene Photos

The wounds of a truly harrowing national tragedy that unfolded in 2022 have been reopened as the family of two victims in the Bryan Kohberger murder case presses on with litigation. Two families who lost loved ones in the horrific slayings of four University of Idaho students are suing the city of Moscow, Idaho, over the public release of nearly 200 crime scene photos. The lawsuit was filed after the Moscow Police Department posted unsettling images from inside the off-campus residence where the crimes took place, court documents say.

The photos, which show the aftermath of the killings, have left the victims' families feeling retraumatized and violated. The release of the sensitive material has emotionally set back the families after Cheryl Kohberger was sentenced, and they were beginning to heal, according to Leander James, the lawyer who represents both families. "They had actually reached a point by the time of the sentencing that they actually had some closure and were able to sort of start to move on somehow," James said. "Then, they get hit with this, all of this ugly stuff getting released."

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The lawsuit is an attempt to prevent the release of further graphic or "death scene" images, and says that the publication of such photos does not serve any genuine public interest, but instead adds to the pain of the families. James said he accepted that some records may ultimately become public property, but there had to be a line between transparency and ruinous profiteering. "I appreciate transparency and the right of the public to know, but there is a line there somewhere, and I think we're over that line," he stressed.

The families' position reflects an ongoing tension around where to draw the line between open records laws and the dignity of victims. On one level, transparency is crucial for public confidence in law enforcement, and on another, unfettered access to graphic evidence risks retraumatizing families and turning crime into spectacle. For the loved ones of Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin, this lawsuit is a call for mercy. They are trying to push back against the city of Moscow and encourage the memory of their children not to be cast in the shadow of gory images. As the case plays out, it will probe how far communities are willing to go in balancing accountability with humanity, especially in the darkness of one of the most haunting crimes in recent memory.