Judge issues amended gag order in UI killings

More people have been legally barred from discussing the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.

A Latah County judge issued an amended gag order that extends to attorneys representing witnesses, victims or the victims’ families in the case.

The order was issued Wednesday by Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall. The order now applies to Shanon Gray, the attorney for the family of Kaylee Goncalves.

Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were fatally stabbed Nov. 13 in the women’s rental home just off the UI campus in Moscow. Bryan Kohberger, a then-Washington State University graduate student, was arrested Dec. 30 in Pennsylvania. He was charged with four counts of murder and burglary, and is being held in the Latah County Jail in Moscow.

Marshall issued the original order Jan. 3. That order banned investigators, law enforcement, defense attorneys and prosecutors from providing information on the case. Those parties are still included in the amended order.

“There is a balance between protecting the right to a fair trial for all parties involved and the right to free expression as afforded under both the United States and Idaho Constitution,” the new order reads. “To preserve the right to a fair trial some curtailment of the dissemination of information in this case is necessary and authorized under the law.”