When four college students were stabbed to death in their beds last November, I immediately did what any normal person would do – canceled my plans, ordered takeout, and fell down a seven-hour internet rabbit hole. (My husband Ryan walked in around midnight to find me surrounded by empty coffee mugs, muttering about DNA evidence and cell tower pings.)
The murders at the University of Idaho weren’t just shocking because they happened in Moscow – a town that hadn’t seen a murder since 2015 – but because they exposed how vulnerable we all are, even in places that seem perfectly safe.
The Night Everything Changed
On November 13, 2022, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were brutally killed in an off-campus residence while their two other roommates somehow slept through the attack. Let that sink in – someone entered a house full of people and committed quadruple homicide without waking the other residents. (If that doesn’t make you triple-check your locks tonight, I don’t know what will.)
The initial investigation was about as smooth as a teenager’s alibi. Law enforcement made contradictory statements about whether there was a threat to the community (spoiler alert: there absolutely was), and students fled campus in droves.
When The Evidence Finally Clicked
For weeks, it seemed like this might become one of those cases that haunts true crime podcasters for decades. Then, in a twist that felt ripped from a crime drama, authorities arrested Bryan Kohberger – a criminology PhD student from neighboring Washington State University.
The evidence against him is as subtle as a bloodstain on white carpet: DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, cell phone data placing him near the victims’ residence a dozen times before the murders, and a damning selfie taken hours after the killings showing what prosecutors claim are scratches on his face.
Oh, and did I mention he was studying criminal justice and criminology? (I swear, half the people who study criminology are either trying to solve crimes or commit them. I’m in the former category… I think.)
What Law Enforcement Got Right (Eventually)
After a rocky start, investigators actually pulled off some impressive forensic work. They used genetic genealogy – the same technique that caught the Golden State Killer – to connect DNA from the crime scene to Kohberger’s family tree.
The case highlights how advanced data retrieval techniques are revolutionizing investigations. Law enforcement essentially used a high-tech version of “connect the dots” between cellular data, surveillance footage, and DNA evidence to build their case.
Would I have solved it faster? Probably not. But I definitely would have communicated better with the terrified community. (Nothing says “sleep tight” like “there’s no threat” when a quadruple murderer is literally still at large.)
The Lessons We’re (Hopefully) Learning
The most chilling aspect of this case isn’t just the brutality – it’s how easily it could happen again. College campuses remain uniquely vulnerable spaces where young adults live in close proximity with minimal security.
Some changes that absolutely need to happen:
1. Better window and door security in off-campus housing (the killer allegedly entered through a sliding door)
2. Improved communication protocols between universities and local police
3. Enhanced surveillance in student housing areas
4. Actual training for students on basic safety measures
I’ve toured enough college campuses to know that security often consists of a blue emergency light that’s always “just out of reach” of wherever something bad happens. We can do better.
The Questions That Still Haunt Me
While Kohberger awaits his trial (scheduled for 2025 – justice moves at the speed of a snail wearing ankle weights), several questions keep me up at night:
Why these victims? Did he stalk them specifically, or was it a random target?
How did two roommates sleep through a bloody massacre? (I wake up when my cat jumps on the bed, for crying out loud.)
And the question that haunts every true crime junkie: could this have been prevented?
The Idaho murders remind us that even in seemingly safe communities, horror can visit without warning. It’s not about living in fear – it’s about being aware that the monsters aren’t just in Netflix documentaries.
Lock your doors tonight. Check your windows. And maybe reconsider befriending that intense criminology student who asks too many questions about your schedule.
I would have survived this crime… but only because my insomnia means I’m always awake at 4 AM, clutching my true crime books and jumping at every sound.
Sleep tight, crime junkies.