On Thursday, the University of Idaho destroyed the off-campus house where four students were stabbed to death last year. This is the latest case of a property being destroyed following gruesome, public killings.
The institution and the surrounding community were shocked by the tragic death of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen on November 13, 2022, inside the off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho.
Prior to the start of the new school year in July, the institution intended to demolish the house that its owner had gifted to them. However, the plans were put on hold until this month, when the university revealed that Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys had been granted access to the property in order to prepare for his trial. The school also reported that on December 21, prosecutors gained access to the residence.
On behalf of himself, Kohberger filed a not guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder. His prosecution has requested that the trial commence in the summer of 2024.
The University of Idaho announced in a press statement earlier this month that the demolition, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday during winter break, is anticipated to continue for at least a few days. University spokeswoman Jodi Walker told Zobuz, nevertheless, that it might be done in a day.
“It is the grim reminder of the heinous act that took place there,” stated Scott Green, president of the University of Idaho, in a news release. It is time to remove the house so that our community can continue to recover, even if we understand the emotional attachment that some victims’ relatives may have to it.
Before the house was torn down, the Goncalves and Kernodle families begged the university and the local authorities to save the house. In a joint statement, they contended that it could reveal information useful in the murder prosecution, such as the extent to which the surviving roommates could have heard the murders.
According to the university, neither the prosecution nor the defense has voiced any objections to the demolition. In an email sent to school authorities, a prosecutor informed them that the house is “so substantially different than at the time of the homicides” and that a jury would not be allowed to view it.
“Although we acknowledge the strong emotions surrounding that house, particularly among the families, we have taken into consideration the feedback from our community, met with the prosecution and defense, and have concluded that this is an opportune moment to proceed with the demolition of that house,” stated Walker, the university spokesperson, in an interview with Zobuz on Wednesday.
According to Walker, the house serves as a “daily reminder of the horrific event that happened there,” even though it is located off-campus and visible from the school. The neighborhood is densely inhabited with students.
“We can heal and take that next step forward, and taking that house down is that next step,” she added, after promising that the institution will not forget.
The focus can now shift to what will happen to the property now that the house is gone. In memory of the four students, the university plans to build a memorial garden on the property; students majoring in landscape architecture and design were supposed to come up with ideas for the garden last fall.
The dilemma of what to do with these properties has grown sadly commonplace in recent years, especially in the United States, where communities frequently face the aftermath of mass shootings, confronting the difficult task of paying tribute to the victims and their families while enabling the survivors to heal and move on.
After school shootings, when both students and teachers may have to return to their campuses, this becomes even more challenging: When a school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 claimed the lives of 26 people—including 20 children aged 6 and 7—the Sandy Hook Elementary School was demolished and rebuilt.
In spite of this, communities have grappled with such inquiries concerning private residences, such as the one in Idaho, for many years, where infamous killers resided or where their victims were killed. Homes like these are often demolished; for example, the home where the Sandy Hook shooter resided with his mother—the first victim he killed on that fateful day—was demolished.
See what happened to other houses that are associated with the murders that occurred there.
Centelo Drive, 10050
Among the most infamous killings committed by the cult headed by Charles Manson in 1969, five individuals were killed at 10050 Cielo Drive. Among them was actress Sharon Tate.
Demolition of the Beverly Hills, California, house began in 1994, and by 1996, a massive nine-bedroom, eighteen-bathroom mansion had been constructed. Its address has changed.
The estate has been listed for sale for $85 million since January 2022, but its asking price has been reduced multiple times in the past 23 months. The ad by the real estate agent states that the sellers are now seeking $49.5 million without mentioning the property’s troubled past.
John Wayne Gacy’s residence
John Wayne Gacy was arrested in December 1978 for the serial murder of at least 33 individuals. Following his arrest, authorities discovered the remains of over 20 victims beneath his residence near Chicago, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune reported in April 1979 that Gacy’s home was demolished months later. A neighbor expressed relief to the newspaper, saying, “I’ll be glad when every bit of it’s gone.”
According to the Tribune, a new house began construction on the lot in June 1988 after it had sat abandoned for over ten years. The new house, like the one on Cielo Drive, has a different address.
Rose and Fred West’s house
Between the years 1960 and 1980 in England, Fred and Rose West kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered multiple girls and young women, including two of their own daughters. Fred, who was facing 12 murder charges, took his own life before his trial could begin. In November 1995, Rose was found guilty on 10 counts of murder and given a life sentence.
At their home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, authorities discovered numerous victims’ remains in various locations, including the yard, the basement, and the toilet, after the case became public knowledge in the 1990s.
Critics condemned the mansion as a “house of horrors,” and in 1996 it was demolished. It was then replaced with a public walkway.
The woodland estate owned by Alex Murdaugh
Moselle, a 1,700-acre property in Islandton, South Carolina, which includes a house, a lodge, and dog kennels where the murders took place, was once the family’s hunting estate. Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife, Maggie, and grown son Paul there.
In order to better comprehend the crime scene and the arguments put forth by both the prosecution and the defense, jurors were taken on a tour of the mansion during the now-disgraced attorney’s trial earlier this year.
But Moselle is still standing, unlike the other crime sites.
Many artifacts from the residence were auctioned off shortly after Murdaugh’s conviction, and the estate was put up for sale many months after the killings, according to Zobuz affiliate WJCL. His defense team is currently pursuing a move for a new trial, therefore his appeal has been put on hold.
Amanda Byers is a graduate of Columbia, where she played volleyball and annoyed a lot of professors. Now as Zobuz’s entertainment and Lifestyle Editor, she enjoys writing about delicious BBQ, outrageous style trends and all things Buzz worthy.
