WARNING: Graphic Content

Photos from the 2022 murder scene of four University of Idaho students were unintentionally made public this week, sparking outrage among the victims’ families.

Relatives have reported that these images reveal the inside of the Moscow, Idaho residence where students Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin were fatally stabbed on November 13, 2022.

The Goncalves family condemned the release, highlighting it as a failure in judgment and security protocols, emphasizing that evidence from such a serious crime should have been tightly controlled.

“We ask for compassion and urge you to imagine this situation as if it involved your loved ones,” stated the Goncalves family. “Think of your daughter, sister, son, or brother. Murder should not be treated as entertainment, and crime scene photos are not content for public consumption.”

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

In earlier court filings, families sought emergency intervention to prevent further dissemination of the images.

A motion for a temporary restraining order was filed Aug. 12, and Judge Megan Marshall granted the request on Aug. 15. Court records show a permanent injunction barring further release of certain materials was issued Oct. 1.

A watchman parked outside 1122 King Road on Dec. 11, 2022, four weeks after four students were stabbed to death inside. A year later, the property was scheduled for demolition. Critics believe it should remain standing until the suspect goes to trial. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Attorneys for the city of Moscow told the court that while they may personally oppose releasing the images, their authority is limited by Idaho’s public records law, which generally favors disclosure and allows only narrow privacy exemptions. They described themselves as “middlemen” under the statute.

The city has already released redacted body-camera footage and photos showing parts of the interior of the home at 1122 King Road.

Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025 in Boise, Idaho. Kohberger pleaded guilty in exchange for being spared the death penalty for the stabbing of four University of Idaho students nearly three years ago. (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)

The photographs emerged more than three years after Bryan Kohberger was charged in the killings.

In July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole and is incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

The Idaho State Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.