MOSCOW, Idaho — The King Road home in Moscow where four University of Idaho students were murdered will remain a preserved crime scene until at least Feb. 1, according to newly released court documents.
The pause comes after the suspect's public defender Anne Taylor filed a motion to preserve the crime scene and evidence.
A judge in Latah County signed the order on Dec. 30, the same day 28-year-old suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested in connection to the murders. This means the house will be preserved as a crime scene for the purpose of collecting evidence.
"This motion is made so that Defense Counsel may take a view of the scene in order to effectively and constitutionally represent Mr. Kohberger," Taylor wrote in the motion.
The house located on King Road in Moscow will be locked and crime tape will remain around the property until Feb. 1, 2023, or until further order of the court.
The house outbuildings, trailers, vehicles, and curtilage will also remain preserved as part of the investigation.
Steve Graham, a criminal defense attorney with more than 20 years of experience, said the defense and prosecution want to be thorough and do their own analysis of the crime scene.
"It doesn't surprise me that the defense team there in Moscow sought to have access to the scene of the crime here," Graham said. "Any diligent defense attorney would want as much and frankly, I think the prosecutors would be in support as well, because they want a conviction at trial that's going to be upheld on appeal. And that means having effective representation of counsel."
On Dec. 30, Moscow Police Department (MPD) announced that a professional cleaning company would start cleaning potential biohazards and other harmful substances in the house used to collect evidence and that the house would be returned to the property management company. However, crews had to pause the cleaning the same day due to the preservation order.
The suspect in the murders made his first appearance in court on Thursday morning after arriving in Idaho on Wednesday night. He will remain in jail without bail and will be back in court for a status hearing on Jan. 12, 2023, at 10 a.m. He was also given a no-contact order that prohibits him from having any contact with the victims' families, friends and the surviving roommates.
The pause comes after the suspect's public defender Anne Taylor filed a motion to preserve the crime scene and evidence.
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