GRAPHIC photos from the horrific murders of four Idaho college students have been permanently blocked from being publicly released.
A judge has ruled against the release of gory photos from the scene where Bryan Kohberger viciously took the lives of four college students.
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four life sentences in prison[/caption]
Scott Laramie, middle, stepfather of victim Madison Mogen, after Kohberger’s guilty plea[/caption]
Kohberger pleaded guilty to murdering Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin[/caption]
Second District Judge Megan Marshall ordered parts of the photos and videos from the scene to be blacked out as the “extreme emotional distress” they cause the victims’ families outweighs public interest.
The judge restricted the release of any photos with the victims’ bodies or blood directly surrounding them.
“There is little to be gained by the public in seeing the decedents’ bodies, the blood-soaked sheets, blood spatter or other death-scene depictions,” the judge wrote in a memorandum.
“Whereas the dissemination of these images across the internet and in public spheres where Plaintiffs may come upon them by happenstance, as has already occurred, causing them extreme emotional distress is an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
The ruling comes after some of the victims’ families filed an injunction to block the release of the graphic images.
The decision also comes a few months after Kohberger was sentenced for the 2022 murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 21.
Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to breaking into the college students’ home and murdering four of them after years of fighting the charges.
On July 23, 2025, he was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison plus ten years in jail for a burglary charge.
After Kohberger was sentenced, graphic images and details began being released to the public.
Some particularly jarring pieces of evidence released by the city of Moscow were a bodycam video from responding police officers, along with 186 photos from inside the victims’ home.
In the images and video, the bodies of the victims and faces of the surviving roommates were blurred.
Despite the blurring, Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie, petitioned against the release of more photos from the murders.
Ethan Chapin’s family joined the injunction.
The petition asked to ban the release of images of the victims, the bedrooms where the victims were murdered, and pictures of personal property.
The full details of Bryan Kohberger’s sentence
On July 23, 2025, Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Bryan Kohberger to the following:
- Count 1: Burglary – 10 years fixed, zero years in determinate. $50,000 fine.
- Count 2: First-degree murder of Madison Mogen: Fixed term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. $50,000 fine and civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim.
- Count 3: First-degree murder of Kaylee Goncalves: Fixed term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. $50,000 fine and civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim.
- Count 4: First-degree murder of Xana Kernodle: Fixed term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. $50,000 fine and civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim.
- Count 5: First-degree murder of Ethan Chapin: Fixed term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. $50,000 fine and civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim.
The sentencings will run consecutively to one another.
“There can be no doubt that the photographs, video, audio, and other investigatory records in this case are incredibly disturbing,” the judge wrote.
“The records are difficult to digest and provide raw view into the horrific tragedy that occurred on November 13, 2022, that impacted Plaintiffs, college community, and the world at large.”
The judge ruled that the blurring of the images is “simply insufficient.”
“The fact remains: the murder investigation and the criminal case are closed. Releasing these records will have minor effect upon those who continue to be perplexed by the facts or fixated on unfounded conspiracies whereas it has and will continue to have profound effect upon the decedents’ loved ones,” she wrote.
However, the judge did permit the release of certain photos, videos, and bodycam footage that don’t include graphic images of the victims.
Bryan Kohberger’s eerie confession
On July 2, Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to killing four University of Idaho students during a chilling and emotionless courtroom appearance. With one-word answers, he confessed to the disturbing crime:
Judge Steven Hippler: Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?
Bryan Kohberger: Yes
Judge Hippler: Did you on November 13, 2022 enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?
Kohberger: Yes
Judge Hippler: Did you on November 13, 2022 in Latah County in the state of Idaho kill and murder Madison Mogen, a human being?
Kohberger: Yes
Judge Hippler: And did you do that willfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation, and with malice of forethought?
Kohberger: Yes
Judge Hippler: Did you on or about the same date in Moscow, Idaho, kill and murder Kaylee Goncalves, a human being?
Kohberger: Yes
Judge Hippler: And did you on that same date in Moscow, Idaho, kill and murder Xana Kernodle, a human being?
Kohberger: Yes
Judge Hippler: And then on or about November 13, 2022, again in Latah County, Idaho, did you kill and murder Ethan Chapin, a human being?
Kohberger: Yes
Later in the hearing, Kohberger officially changed his plea, one count at a time, with the same emotionless tone that belied the horrific nature of his murders.
Judge Hippler: With respect to count one, burglary felony, how do you plead Mr. Kohberger?
Kohberger: Guilty
Judge Hippler: As to count two, murder in the first degree as it relates to the murder of Madison Mogen, how do you plead guilty or not guilty?
Kohberger: Guilty
Judge Hippler: As to count three, as it relates to murder in the first degree to the murder of Kaylee Goncalves, how do you plead guilty or not guilty?
Kohberger: Guilty
Judge Hippler: As to count four, the first degree murder of Xana Kernodle, a human being, how do you plead guilty or not guilty?
Kohberger: Guilty
Judge Hippler: As to count five, first degree murder of Ethan Chapin, a human being, how do you plead guilty or not guilty?
Kohberger: Guilty
Photo: AP
The victims’ families wrote celebratory posts on social media following the ruling.
“This decision is a precedent that will afford future crime victims better justice,” Stacy Chapin, Ethan’s mother, wrote on Instagram.
“Finally!!!!!!!! A huge weight has been lifted from all of our families shoulders,” the Goncalves posted on Facebook.
