Idaho: When will families get victims’ belongings back?
- Personal belongings in Idaho student murders have yet to be returned to the families
- NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield says items may still be in the house
- The home is currently boarded up with a chain link fence surrounding it
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(NewsNation) — Some of the personal belongings of the victims of the Idaho student murders have yet to be returned to the families.
NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield says police did their best, but items were left behind and may still be in the house.
The University of Idaho had earlier sent a letter to the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — the four students killed on Nov. 13 of last year in the home on King Road — when laying out the protocol for what’s to happen with the home.
The university wanted to make sure family members of the victims had the opportunity to retrieve the belongings of their loved ones that have been inside the house since the killings in November.
The letter stated:
At the completion of the remediation, we intend to have the remediation team gather any personal property that do not appear to be contaminated and transfer them to university personnel who will take these items to a secure off-site location for representative members of the families to review and recover items of your family members that you wish to keep. Items not selected will then be properly disposed of. This will not apply to large bulky items such as sofas, beds or the like, to the extent that any remain on site. If you have specific items you wish to be on the lookout for, regardless of size, please let me know. If we can locate and retain them for you we will.
Banfield has now gotten an exclusive look at the second letter the University of Idaho sent to the victims’ family members, after some voiced concerns about the pending demolition of the house where the killings took place.
NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin discussed the emotional impact the victims’ belongings can have on the families with Lauren Matthias, the host of “Hidden: A True Crime Podcast.”
“Many want these items,” Matthias said. “But they don’t know what to do with them.”
The home is currently boarded up with a chain link fence surrounding it and a security officer standing guard outside to make sure no one has access to the scene.
