Idaho murder victims’ families reserve right to sue city of Moscow, lawyer says

The families of two University of Idaho murder victims have notified the court that they reserve the right to sue the city of Moscow in the future.

Shanon Gray, a lawyer for the family of 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, said filing the tort notices is a “safeguard” in case something goes wrong or if something was handled improperly.

The family of Madison Mogen, 21, who was also killed in the attack, is also reserving its right to sue.

The two seniors, their housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20, each died of multiple stab wounds the morning of Nov. 13, 2022, after a man entered their home around 4 a.m. armed with a large knife, according to city police.

IDAHO MURDERS: BRYAN KOHBERGER’S DEFENSE STANDS SILENT AT ARRAIGNMENT, JUDGE ENTERS NOT GUILTY PLEAS

The notices, filed earlier this month and later obtained by ABC News, warn that the families might seek damages in the future but do not specify a sum of the potential damages.

The suspect, Bryan Kohberger, was a Ph.D. student at the neighboring Washington State University, where he was in the criminal justice and criminology program.

INSIDE IDAHO MURDERS SUSPECT BRYAN KOHBERGER’S UNUSUALLY LONG ROUTE HOME TO PENNSYLVANIA

Police arrested Kohberger on Dec. 30 in Pennsylvania, where he had returned to his parents’ house for the holidays after a cross-country road trip with his dad – driving the suspect vehicle from Washington state to the Pocono Mountains. 

After he declined to enter a plea Monday, Latah County District Judge John Judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf on four charges of first-degree murder and a count of felony burglary.

A trial date was set for Oct. 2.

Defense attorney Anne Taylor told the court she expected the trial to take four to six weeks.

Kohberger could face Idaho’s death penalty if convicted.