At 12 a.m. on Nov. 13, University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves were found murdered in their off campus apartment by police.
At 2 a.m. on Nov. 12, the friends left their apartment for a night out. They returned home and collected an order for DoorDash at around 4 a.m. Kernodle scrolled through TikTok minutes before disaster struck. Another roommate who was not harmed in the intrusion, but has remained unidentified in court documents, stated that she was awoken sometime soon after 4 a.m., by what she presumed was her roommate playing with her dog a floor above her.
After waking up, she later stated she heard crying and a male voice assuring her roommate that it was “okay” and he was “going to help you [the witnesses roommate].” Nearby security audio recorded a whine, a loud crash, and a barking dog. The witness claims she opened her door and saw a man dressed in black with a black ski mask covering his face. She then closed and locked the door. A call was made that afternoon to the police who soon arrived on the scene and found the four roommates murdered from multiple stab wounds.
Authorities sprang to solve the case, wanting to bring justice to the families broken by the murders. They used DNA from a knife sheath left behind at the crime scene to track down and arrest Bryan Kohberger. Kohberger, now in police custody, denies any involvement in the murders and is currently being held without bail until trial.
The announcement of the murders shattered the Moscow community. Moscow police were quick to release a statement that there was no “ongoing threat” to the community and the University of Idaho sent out a memo to students offering counseling on site and an increase in security to offer “Safe Walks”, a system to ensure safety of students that involves a security personal meeting a student and walking them to their destination, to any student that felt the need. However, as the investigation continued authorities later released that they could not “say that there is no threat to the community” on Nov. 16.
Although justice has not yet been brought to the murdered students and their families, the community of Moscow has come together to mourn the loss. They’ve held a candlelight vigil, left flowers, notes, and gifts beside the victims’ apartments, and have made signs showing support for the lost friends and their families have appeared outside of homes and apartments.