On November 13, 2022, the bodies of four University of Idaho students were discovered in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, after being fatally stabbed in the early hours of the morning. The new Netflix true crime series The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare delves into the investigation through bodycam footage, interviews, and texts.
A Deep Dive into a Devastating Case
According to the official description, the three-part series "definitively chronicles one of the most chilling murder cases in recent memory — honouring the four young lives that were taken while tracing every step from the night of the killings to the suspect’s eventual arrest." It adds that the doc is "peeling back the layers of a case that forever changed the tight-knit college town of Moscow, Idaho."
College students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were murdered at their off-campus home in November 2022.
Director's Commitment to the Victims
Director Skye Borgman commented: "Making this series became deeply personal to me because I felt a responsibility to keep Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at the centre of every decision we made."
"At a time when so much attention has been focused on the case itself, I felt it was important to create something that brings the focus back to who they were, the lives they lived, and the love that still surrounds them."
Details from the Investigation
Netflix explains that the series is "visceral and intimate but told with sensitive", but warns viewers to "watch out for sensitive topics including violence and graphic crime-scene imagery".
As detailed in the documentary, about a month before the murders, Kaylee told her roommate that she had seen a man staring at her while walking a dog. A few weeks later, one of the victims’ other roommates reported arriving home to find their front door left wide open.
Using DNA analysis on the knife sheath, the FBI traced it to rubbish from the family home of Bryan Kohberger, a Washington State University graduate. Netflix reports that "investigators came to believe that this was a premeditated crime that Kohberger had meticulously planned."
Kohberger pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole. He is currently serving his sentence at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
Audience Reaction
A Netflix viewer shared on X: "It literally sends a chill through me. The ambiance of the scene, is so scary and dark. You can sense the evil that came through the house that night…"
Another praised on Reddit: "This show does a really good job of looking at the victims as people. It’s really heartbreaking."
The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare is available to watch on Netflix.
