Former FBI Agent Who Specialized In Forensics Examines The Murders Of University Of Idaho Students

Episode 86: University of Idaho Murders

First off, I want to say rest in peace to the victims in this case and offer you something I learned about all of them. They were just starting their lives and will be remembered by many. One thing I discovered is that it's clear the world will be a lesser place without them. 

Xana Kernodle was a junior from Post Falls, Idaho, she majored in marketing and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Her family would say loved her dog, Shoeshine, enjoyed EDM music, going to concerts, spending time with her friends and going on family trips with her sister and father. When she was little she loved spending time on her grandma and grandpa's farm and summers at the river. She was 20 years old. 

Ethan Chapin was a freshman from Mount Vernon, Washington. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. His major was recreation, sport and tourism management. It was said by his family that he loved being a triplet and enjoyed sports, from golf to basketball to surfing to pickleball. He was 20 years old.  

Madison "Maddie" Mogen was a senior from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and was majoring in marketing. Her grandfather said she was a model student and loved sorority life. She and Kaylee had been friends since they were kids. Her father would also say she loved Mac Miller even getting to meet him at a show. She was 21 years old. 

Kaylee Goncalves was a senior from Rathdrum, Idaho, majored in general studies in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. Her parents would say she "loved to play pranks on her friends and family constantly. She loved adventure. She was a hard worker, always having a full-time job on top of her studies, even in high school." She was 21 years old. 

May the memories of them be a blessing. I hope and pray their families receive swift justice. 

If you have been following the news, you're well aware of the brutal and depraved murders of these four University of Idaho students. Five people lived in a home in off campus housing in Moscow, a small town in Idaho where the university is. In the early morning hours of Sunday November 13th, four people inside the home were brutally murdered. Three females that lived there as well as the boyfriend of one one of the victims. He did not live at the home. Two other people weren't harmed in the first floor of the home. 

In the the month or so that's past, there hasn't been much movement on the case. The FBI has joined in the hunt for the person that committed this crime alongside the local department as well as the Idaho State Police. We would subsequently find a food truck Twitch stream that shows two of the females, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves ordering food after the night was spent at a local bar called the Corner Club in Moscow. The two others, Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin attended a frat party, one that Ethan was apart of. At the scene of the food truck, the events that follow go pretty normally, the girls order some food and wait and then subsequently dart off to head home after receiving their order. 

The first evidence in this is the movements of these four individuals and understanding how complex this all is. Cases involving just one person can take years to solve. In this case, the powers that be are dealing with essentially four different investigations as well as understanding their lives, relationships, familial connections etc. This is an incredibly detailed case where no stone can be left unturned. The FBI and other local police are combing though 1000's of tips, leads and other details. This is an incredibly sad case but with social media the thought is "this is taking too long." These investigations take time. Today I felt it important to find someone who has experience with this sort of thing and ask him his opinion on all of it. 

I highly urge you to check out this week's episode of the podcast: The Sitdown: A Crime History Podcast. I am joined by former FBI Agent Bobby Chacon. Bobby is an extremely well polished agent who worked on major organized crime cases surrounding the Lucchese crime family, Jamaican Posse, terrorist organizations and more. His expertise of forensics and more allowed him to take part in many cases and dozens of death investigations and serial killers. We go in depth to some of the evidence of the above case including the food truck footage as well as the lack of camera evidence and the other unknowns of the case. These four families deserve justice in this case. In the first 35 minutes we detail Bobby's career and some of the major cases he's worked. At 35:11 we begin talking about this case.

Again, may the victims rest in peace and may their families find justice. I know this may sound lame, but I mean it, hug your family or someone you care about tonight. 

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