MOSCOW, Idaho -- Recently released documents show in further detail Ernesto Bustamante's history with the Moscow Police Departments, including domestic violence with another woman around the same time he met Katy Benoit.
In the days and weeks following the murder of Katy Benoit details of a troubled relationship emerged.
Ernesto Bustamante, her psychology professor, shot Benoit 11 times on the steps of her Moscow home.
The University of Idaho has released few details about the relationship or the university's knowledge of the romance, citing Idaho's code protecting employee records.
Now a district court judge has been asked to make an exception to the rule.
A public records request with the Moscow Police Department offers some insight into Bustamante.
A relationship with an ex-girlfriend was also tumultuous. Police reports say she took sleeping pills in a suicide attempt following her break-up from Bustamante.
There are reports of physical violence. In Bustamante's own writing he said his ex-girlfriend hit him in the face and groin and said she wanted to inflict the physical pain he deserved.
She believed he was cheating. The reports are dated for November 2010.
Police say documents seized at the hotel where Bustamante committed suicide show he met Benoit in the fall of 2010, and by the end of the semester they had a sexual relationship.
The university's policy says relationships between professors and students are prohibited.
How far the university was into their investigation on Bustamante and Benoit remains unclear.
A Latah District Court Judge has set a date to discuss the release of former University of Idaho employee Ernesto Bustamante.
Latah District Court Judge John Stegner set Monday, Oct. 3, for oral arguments in the declaratory action brought by the University of Idaho concerning the personnel records.
The university is asking the court to interpret the meaning of the Idaho Public Records which bars public agencies from releasing most personnel records for current and former employees without the employee's consent. The question to be resolved by the court is whether this law applies after the death of the former employee.
U of I has received numerous public records to release Bustamante's personnel records.
The institution has said its commitment to the public means full disclosure of all information it has the legal authority to disclose.
The university's response to Benoit's complaint appears to be consistent with university policy, but president Duane Nellis ordered an independent review to make sure those procedures meet the highest safety and security standards.
The review panel announced Friday includes former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout, Bob Duringer from the University of Montana and Larry Roper from Oregon State University.
