Friday marks four years since four University of Idaho students – Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21 – were killed at an off-campus home in November 2022.
The murders garnered national attention as investigators searched for the killer. Students left campus in fear, many opting to finish the semester remotely at home.
Most of the students attending school at the time have since graduated and moved on.
U of I Freshman Logan Henson, was in high school when the murders happened, but she said students on campus today still talk about the killings as a reminder to be careful while out on the party scene.
“It didn’t deter me from being up here because it’s safe,” she said of her decision to go to U of I. “There’s lots of campus help, there’s Safe Walks or people will walk you to and from your vehicles.”
“People are always watching out for you,” she added.
The Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial on campus was designed to honor the four victims, and all those who have died while studying at the university. It was designed by students from the U of I’s college of art and architecture and officially opened to the public in August 2024.
Once a sprawling green field, the space now holds a circular steel structure where visitors can leave notes and sit on benches, walk through a garden path and the memorial structures built to honor the students.
Students, staff and people from the Moscow community are invited to gather there Friday at noon for a brief moment of silence to honor all lost students, including Kernodle, Chapin, Mogen and Goncalves.
“We didn’t know them, we were young, but, still I feel like, as a U of I student, that is something that still affects the way we function on campus, Henson said,.
”Paying your respects is important,” she added, saying she plans to attend the campus memorial with her roommate.
“It will undeniably be a part of the university's history that appears in conversations for years to come,” said Paige Wilton, the Editor-in-Chief of The Argonaut, the university’s student newspaper. “The celebration of their lives, I believe, still remains strong around the UI campus.”
U of I continues to honor the memory of the victims
In the days leading up to the anniversary of their deaths, the university organized a “Week of Remembrance and Kindness” with activities to honor Kernodle, Chapin, Mogen and Goncalves. People are encouraged to complete four acts of kindness in honor of the victims.
“I love this,” wrote Stacy Chapin, mother to Ethan Chapin, in a social media post on Nov. 9.
“These gestures do not need to be grand gestures,” she said. “A thoughtful message, helping someone in need, giving your time or checking in on a friend.”
“Most importantly, be a good human,” Chapin said. “You never know what someone is going through.”
Several foundations have been established in honor of the victims. The Made with Kindness Foundation in memory of Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen, the Ethan’s Smile Foundation in memory of Ethan Chapin, and Murder Has a Name in memory of Kaylee Goncalves.
The case continues
Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student studying criminal justice across the state line at Washington State University, was eventually arrested and charged with the crime after a six week search.
Investigators pulled cell data from his phone showing he visited the house on King Road at least a dozen times before the killings, late at night or early in the morning. DNA linked him to a knife sheath left at the crime scene, and surveillance footage caught his car speeding away from the house after the killings.
Kohberger pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty in July 2025, and accepted a deal to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and 10 years for a burglary charge.
On July 27, he filed a petition in Ada County District Court to try and withdraw his guilty plea. Kohberger is scheduled to appear in court Thursday, Dec. 10 for his first hearing since his conviction.
