Global Courant 2023-05-09 19:19:00
The four University of Idaho students killed in an off-campus stabbing in November will be honored posthumously, according to the school.
Classmates discovered the bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison May, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20; on Nov. 13, hours after police arrested 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D. criminology student at neighboring Washington State University, snuck into their home and ambushed them at 4 a.m.
The murders at a six-bedroom rental home on King Road, just steps from the edge of the school grounds, shocked the local community in Moscow, Idaho, the university campus and people across the country.
Mogen, a Coeur d’Alene native and a senior marketing student in the College of Business and Economics, and her Pi Beta Phi sorority fellow, Kernodle, a junior in the same Post Falls program, are the first to go, according to Jodi Walker. executive director of communications of the university.
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The victims of the University of Idaho massacre on November 13, from left to right: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen. (Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)
The university is host two starting ceremoniesone in the morning and one in the afternoon, with nine programs divided between them.
“During the morning ceremony, at 9:30 a.m., Madison Mogen will receive a bachelor’s degree in marketing and Xana Kernodle a certificate in marketing,” she said. “At the 2 p.m. ceremony, Ethan Chapin will receive a certificate in recreation, sports and tourism management and Kaylee Goncalves will receive a bachelor’s degree in general studies.”
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other roommates in Goncalves’ latest Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend, a Washington state resident who lived nearby at the Sigma Chi fraternity house, about 200 yards from King Road, and was spending the night at the King Road house at the time of the attack.
He was also a triplets and his brother, Hunter, remains a member of Sigma Chi. His sister, Maizie, is also still studying at university.
WATCH: Ethan Chapin’s parents reflect on their son’s final moments
He studied sports and tourism management.
Goncalves, from Rathdrum, was a member of Alpha Phi and was due to graduate at the time of her murder. She had hoped to move to Austin, Texas for a new job and had already moved out of the King Road home, but returned for a visit.
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WATCH: Steve Goncalves follows the suspect’s arrest: It feels like a little bit of weight has been lifted
Two other housemates survived the attack. One told police she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” leaving through a sliding door at the back.
According to Scott Green, the president of the university, the owner of the rental house donated the property to the school, which plans to demolish it and create a memorial garden for the victims and other students who died.
“We will never forget Xana, Ethan, Madison and Kaylee, and I will do everything I can to protect their dignity and respect their memory,” Green said in February. “Together we will rebuild and continue to support each other.”
The house at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, behind police tape on Nov. 15, 2022. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Weeks after the attack, police and the FBI arrested Kohberger at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
He had driven there from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, in mid-December, and took the suspect vehicle on a cross-country road trip with his father.
In court documents released in January, police said they found DNA evidence on a knife sheath that had been discarded near Mogen’s body. They also used phone records and surveillance cameras to track Kohberger’s movements before and after the crime.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, following his arrest on December 30, 2022. He waived extradition and was flown back to Idaho. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
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According to a police affidavit, he allegedly snuck home along King Road 10 times before the stabbing and made a final visit to the scene hours later.
He is being held without bail in Moscow’s Latah County Jail on four counts of first-degree murder and one charge of burglary. A status conference is scheduled for May 22.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @mikerreports
