Idaho State Police Release Photos of the “Idaho Four” Crime Scenes

*Trigger Warning: Graphic descriptions/content*

Nov. 13, 2022, four college students in Moscow, Idaho, were brutally murdered in their home. Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all fatally stabbed in their Idaho home, with roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke surviving the attacks unharmed. 

Three years later, on July 23, 2025, Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without a possibility for parole plus 10 years, after pleading guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, and one count of burglary. Now, in January 2026, the public has been given access to hundreds of photos taken of the crime scene; however, this release didn’t come without its fair share of issues.

The primary problem with the initial media release of these photos was the fact that some of them contained un-edited images, containing the bodies of Kernodle and Chapin before they were moved from the crime scene. Idaho State Police reportedly received many public records requests, all of which were requesting the release of these photos. 

Prior to the release of the photos, the Idaho State Police were required by a court to redact any parts of the photos that contained “any portion of the bodies of the decedents or the blood immediately surrounding them” (NY Post). Despite this, photos managed to be released that contained Kernodle and Chapin’s bodies, before they were pulled from the public’s eyes just hours later. 

The families of the victims all took action to prevent any more photos from being released to the public. The Goncalves family said, “Please be kind and, as difficult as it is, place yourself outside of yourself and consume the content as if it were your loved one.” All four victims’ families are currently in the process of filing court injunctions to prevent the further release of the photos. 

To no one’s surprise, people across social media, but particularly on TikTok, have gone crazy with the release of these photos. Videos ranging from conspiracy theories to video recreations of the night’s horrific events have resurfaced, and dozens of content creators are sharing their thoughts on the case and the photo release. 

TikTok user and crime scene analyst @niord3 said, “Ultimately, I’m always an advocate for transparency in policing, and I do think that there is some benefit to talking about these photographs because there are still so many conspiracy theories.” She continued throughout her video to explain her perspective on discussing the photos, saying that either her viewers will trust her professional opinion, or they won’t. 

Many users are also taking these photos as an opportunity to back up their own theory, that Mortensen and Funke had to have heard the events of that night. “Now that we have these new pics… there’s no way nothing was heard,” wrote TikTok user @goddessoflovexoxo. However, user @yuyibambi presents a very different view, commenting, “People owe a massive apology to the 2 survivors since Kohberger confessed. Typical TikTok conspiracy theorists claimed they were ‘in on it’ like they aren’t traumatised teenagers.” 

The release of these photos has brought the Kohberger case back into the spotlight on social media and among people across the nation. While we have yet to know what else will continue to be released, social media users are using every shred of evidence they can gather to attempt to recreate what happened on the night of the Idaho Four murders.