What We Know About The Idaho Murders, Zara McDermott’s TikTok Fascination & New Documentary

When the bodies of four University students were found dead in Idaho 2022, people from across the world came together online to try and find the killer.

The tragic stories of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen also came to TikTok’s attention, as armchair sleuths tried to figure out who had killed the students – for better and for worse.

Reality star, Zara McDermott, like many, became interested in the case… the mystery, the theories, the who and the why, and she scoured the internet for clues that could help solve this murder mystery. 

What started as curiosity soon became an obsession, and eventually turned into a belief that it may be time to take matters into her own hands and unravel this crime on her own.

Enter The Idaho Murders – Trial by TikTok… an investigative documentary presented by Zara, where she sets out to see if all of what she saw online regarding the case was true, giving an insight into the lives of the accused and those affected by the rumours.

So what do we know so far or rather… what don’t we know?

It was an ordinary day in Moscow, a small American town that had seen no sight of a homicide in over seven years. With a population of only 25,000 and over half of them being students, it came as an earth-shattering shock when four people were found stabbed to death in their rooms.

In the weeks following, local authorities revealed that they had no suspects, no motive, no weapon, or no signs of forced entry into the house. This lack of facts regarding the offence only fuelled the fire of this ‘trial by TikTok.’

 

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All four victims were ambushed in their rooms and killed with a missing military knife on November 13^th, 2022.

Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both aged 21, were seniors at the University of Idaho and were soon to be graduates.

Xana Kerboodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chaplin were 20-year-old juniors. The pair were believed to be conscious during the stabbings.

During the quadruple homicide, there were two other roommates present, Bethany Dunk and Dylan Mortenson, who were left unharmed. However, it was reported that Dylan witnessed the alleged masked killer who was dressed in all black.

As days turned into weeks, the Idaho murders were still unsolved, yet global interest spiked, theories multiplied, and millions of people became involved.

As information on the victims’ last encounters and movements arose, so did internet speculation. Amateur detectives began digging for more facts, pointing fingers at potential suspects, and filling social media with their theories.

With many students of Idaho and residents of Moscow being accused left right and centre, the story of the Idaho victims has been twisted and tainted, making it difficult to set the truth aside from what’s fake.

After a month following each of the four cases with intricate detail online, Zara headed to Moscow.

She sets out to discover why and how the true-crime sleuths have conducted their investigations, and how their content has led to chaos. What makes their version of events more valid than that of the local police force in Idaho and how have they got people online so hooked? 

Zara also meets with those whose personal lives have been affected by the rumours, asking what role do we have as social media users in this catastrophe?

Sometime later, 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested for murder. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty, but the havoc left by coverage of this case online remains, even if justice is served.

The Idaho Murders – Trial by TikTok can now be streamed on BBC iPlayer.

Words by Shauna Whyte 

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• Zara McDermott