The University of Idaho is putting on hold once again plans to demolish the off-campus home where four students were murdered last year, KHQ-TV reports.
Officials this week decided to wait to tear down the King Road residence until Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial has concluded.
The trial had been scheduled for October 2, but Kohberger in August waived his right to a speedy trial, so the trial date has been pushed back, according to CBS News.
This is the second time the university delayed demolition of the now-boarded up residence; the university had planned to demolish it this summer but officials postponed it in July after lead and asbestos were found and because of concerns raised by some families of the victims, ABC News reports.
The home is the subject of intense pain in the community, a constant reminder of four young lives lost in a small college town.
Authorities allege that Kohberger, 28, stabbed to death the four undergraduate students – Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – at the property in November last year.
At the time of the slayings, Kohberger was a criminology Ph.D. student at the nearby Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. A judge in late May entered a plea of not guilty on Kohberger’s behalf.
Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson in late June said his office planned to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
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[Feature Photo: FILE – Bare spots are seen on Nov. 29, 2022, in the snowy parking lot in front of the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, in Moscow, Idaho, after vehicles belonging to the victims and others were towed away earlier in the day. Police are asking for help finding the occupant of a car that was seen near where the students were stabbed, saying that person could have “critical information” about the case. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)]
