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Katie Ring
Foreign.
Crime House Host
This is Crime House.
Katie Ring
The Idaho four case didn't just grip the nation, it completely unsettled it. Maddie Mogan, Kaylee Gonzalez, Zana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were enjoying a normal Saturday night, but by morning they had been brutally murdered. It didn't make any sense, and for many Americans, it shattered the illusion that small town communities were safe. What followed was nationwide fear, a massive manhunt, and online sleuthing on an unprecedented scale. So how did someone slip into a house full of roommates and change the country overnight? Every crime tells a story about the people involved, the system that tried to stop it, and the nation that couldn't look away. Some cases are so shocking, so deeply woven into who we are, that decades later we're still asking, how did this happen? I'm Katie Ring and this is America's Most Infamous Crimes. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I'll take you deep into cases that have a lasting imprint on society and still haunt us today. I want to thank you for being part of our Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes wherever you get your podcasts and to get all episodes at once. Ad free. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts.
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Crime House Host
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Katie Ring
Before I get started, please be advised that this episode Contains descriptions of violence, so please listen with care. This is the first of our three episode series on the 2022 Idaho student murders. A horrific quadruple homicide with no known motive and no direct connection between the victims and the perpetrator. Brian Kohberger. Today I'll introduce you to Maddie Mogan, Kaylee Gonzalez, Zanna Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. You'll learn about the bonds that brought them together, what they did on the night of November 12, 2022, and the shocking crimes that left a whole country searching for answers. One of the sad truths about true crime is that when you cover a murder case, it's the killer who usually gets the most attention. But when you stop to think about it, it makes sense. They're the ones who go on trial, the ones who dominate the headlines as we try to understand their motives, and the ones who make us question human nature. Over the next three episodes, we will be talking about Bryan Kohberger. But here's what we won't do. Let his victims fade into the shadows. Not just to honor their memories, but because they're the real story. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears. That's what really tells you what it means to be human. Let's start with Madison Mogan and Kaylee Gonzalez. They both grew up in Coeur d', Alene, Idaho, where they met in sixth grade. It didn't take long for them to become best friends, and they were so close, they were practically sisters. Hearing about their personalities, it makes complete sense. You can see how they balanced each other out. Maddie was funny, smart, and most of all, loyal. Her parents, Karen and Scott, said that she was the kind of girl who made friends the second she walked into her room, even though she was a little shy. Meanwhile, Kaylee was more outgoing and liked to express her creativity on social media. The two of them were practically attached at the hip. Throughout high school, they did everything together. And when it was time to apply to college, they did that together, too. Maddie and Kaylee were both accepted to the University of Idaho In Moscow, about 85 miles from Coeur d'. Alene. It wasn't too far from home, but was just far enough for them to get some independence. When they got to campus around the fall of 2019, they had different plans for their lives. Maddie would major in marketing, while Kaylee ended up in general studies. But their friendship was just as strong as ever and they decided to rush sororities together. Maddie's first choice was Alpha Phi, which was considered one of the top houses on campus. But she didn't get in. So she ended up at PI Beta Phi instead, otherwise known as PI Phi. Kaylee, on the other hand, did get into Alpha Phi. It's the kind of thing that could throw a wedge into a friendship, no matter how strong it is. But Maddie and Kaylee were just as close as ever. And instead of being disappointed, Maddie decided to see her situation as an opportunity. PI Phi might not have been a top house, but Maddie was going to make it one. She promoted her new house all over social media, and she was so good at it, she took over their official Instagram account. Maddie and Kaylee were starting to branch out in the best possible ways. They were finding themselves and building new bonds, all while maintaining their own friendship. But then life threw everyone a curveball when the pandemic hit. Both girls moved back home to Coeur d'. Alene. And by the time they got back to campus, neither of them were all that excited about sorority life anymore. There were a lot of rules and restrictions to it, and living in their houses just wasn't as fun as it used to be. So in 2022, the summer before senior year, Maddie and Kaylee, who were now both 21, moved into a shared house at 1122 King Road. It's a neighborhood known for being a party spot and is popular with students in Greek life. The perfect middle ground for them to stay involved with their houses while also getting a bit of distance. By this point, the girls plans for after graduation were starting to take shape. Maddie was on track to finish her marketing degree in the spring. She was thinking of moving to Boise after graduation. After doing some traveling and on top of her studies, she worked part time as a server at the Mad Greek restaurant in downtown Moscow and also managed the restaurant's social media pages. Meanwhile, Kaylee was set to graduate a semester early in December. She had an IIT job lined up in Texas and was going to move out there after traveling on her own for a bit. So as the fall semester went by, Kaylee eventually moved out of the house on King Road as she got ready for the next chapter in her life. But she still had some of her stuff in her old room and was there a lot to hang out with Maddie and her other roommates.
True Crime Expert/Advocate
The first level was level with a
Katie Ring
parking area and had two bedrooms.
True Crime Expert/Advocate
The second level was ground level and
Katie Ring
also had two bedrooms.
True Crime Expert/Advocate
And then the third level was kind of like the second story that also
Katie Ring
had two more bedrooms.
True Crime Expert/Advocate
They also had three other roommates, Bethany
Katie Ring
Funk, Dylan Mortensen, and Zanna Kernodle. Bethany was on the ground level or basement level and Dylan and Zanna were on the second level while Maddie and Kaylee were on the top level. Dylan and Bethany were both 19 and Bethany was in PI Phi with Maddie. She was actually Maddie's little, which added an extra bond between them. 20 year old Zanna was in PI Phi as well and also worked at the Mad Greek restaurant. Zanna was also a marketing major and was planning to start her own company with her sister after graduating. She'd allegedly overcome a tough childhood and was raised by her aunt and uncle, but Zanna didn't let that define her. She was funny and confident and athletic. She was a multi sport athlete and a competitive gymnast in middle school and high school. She could show up at a party in an oversized sweatshirt, hair in a messy bun, no makeup and still steal the show. Zanna was known by friends and family as an uplifting, positive thinker who could take a bad situation and turn it into a good one. It was something she had in common with her boyfriend, 20 year old Ethan Chapin. Ethan was majoring in Recreation, Sport and Tourism Management and played a lot of sports. Just like Zanna. Ethan was actually a triplet and when it came time to go to college, all three of them, Ethan, his brother Hunter and his sister Maisie all went to the University of Idaho together. Ethan and Hunter even joined the same fraternity, Sigma Chi, where Ethan met Zanna. It wasn't instant fireworks, but they ran in the same circles. They were always hanging out together and their connection just grew naturally. Zanna had just spent the summer with Ethan's family and now he was spending almost every night at the King Road house with her. When Ethan's parents, Jim and Stacy, came for a parents weekend in early November of 2022, they were thrilled to see how well their kids had adjusted to college life. They tailgated together, met their kids friends and spent time with Zanna. It was clear that she and Ethan were getting serious, but they had no way of knowing what was about to happen and that they'd never see their son again.
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Katie Ring
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Katie Ring
There are a lot of names in this case, so let's do a quick recap of everyone at the King Road House. First we have Kaylee and Maddie who are childhood best friends, Zanna and Ethan who were dating, and Dylan and Bethany who were both a bit younger than the others. And Bethany was also in the same sorority as Maddie and Zanna. All of them loved to have fun and the King Road House was like a home base for everyone in their friend group. It was one of those places where people were always coming and going. They were all so comfortable with each other that the front door was pretty much always unlocked. It was the picture perfect college experience. But In October of 2022, the dream started to feel more like a nightmare. It all started one day when Kaylee took her dog Murphy, who she shared with her ex boyfriend on a walk. While they were outside, she noticed a man looking in her direction. It seemed like he was staring right at her, never breaking his gaze. Kaylee did her best to ignore it, but when she got back to the house she told Dylan about it. They were both a little freaked out, but there wasn't really anything they could do about it so they tried to let it go. However, over the next week or so, Kaylee still had a weird feeling that someone was watching her and soon she couldn't keep ignoring it. While she was at the grocery store one day she noticed a guy following her around. He was watching her and trailing her through the aisles. When Kaylee checked out and left the store, she thought he was gone, but when she walked outside, he was standing near her car. Thankfully though, Kaylee was able to get into her car and leave safely and when she told her friends about what happened, it put everyone on edge a little. Then about a week later, everyone in the house went on a Starbucks run. When they got back, their front door was wide open. It was definitely creepy, but they convinced themselves that nothing was wrong. The door had been broken for a while and it popped open sometimes, especially when it was windy. And there was a full on snowstorm that day, so maybe that's all it was. Still, considering the weird stuff Kaylee had been experiencing lately, they were still a little spooked, so they all grabbed one of Ethan's golf clubs before going inside. At first nothing seemed off, but then they realized that the washing machine was running even though none of them turned it on before they left. Now they were really freaked out and they only got more scared when one of their neighbors told them that while they were out, there was a strange man lurking around their house. As you can imagine, they were shaken up by this. So Zanna called her dad who came over to tighten the hinges on the front door. It helped put everyone a little more at ease and another week or two went by without anything weird happening. By November 12, everything was basically back to normal and the roommates were planning to go out and have some fun. That evening, Kali and Maddie headed to a local sports bar called the Corner Club, while Zanna and Ethan went to a party at the Sigma Chi frat house. Dylan and Bethany went out separately, but figured they'd end up at Sigma Chi too. After Kaylee and Maddie left the Corner Club, they decided to stop at a popular food truck called the Grub Truck. For some reason, the Grub Truck was live streaming on Twitch that night, so anyone who came to order was caught on camera and anyone could check it out online. Kaylee and Maddie showed up on the live stream around 1.30am there's no audio, but they seem happy and relaxed. There's a few people around, including a guy in a hoodie, and as the girls go out of frame, he follows right behind them. Now, this footage would become a point of contention later, but for the time being, Kaylee and Maddie didn't think anything of it. After getting their food, they called an Uber and headed home. By 2am, all five roommates plus Ethan were back at the house on King Road. And before I move on to what came next, let's go over the layout of the house again. There are six bedrooms in total. The ground floor is at parking level and it's where Bethany's room is. There's also another room on this floor that nobody lives in. The second floor is where the main entrance is, plus a sliding door that leads into the kitchen. That's where Dylan and Zanna rooms are. And finally, Maddie's room is on the third floor along with Kaylee's old room. That night, Kaylee and Maddie decided to share Maddie's bed. Ethan and Zanna slept in Zanna's room and Dylan and Bethany went to their own rooms. As they all wound down for the night and got some sleep, everything seemed normal. There was no sense of weirdness that had been circling the house over the past few weeks. But as the neighborhood went quiet, an intruder showed up. Around 3:30am a white Hyundai Elantra started showing up on security cameras from nearby houses. It drove past the King Road house once, then again slower, and again even slower. Over the next half hour, the car circled the block several times before finally stopping near the home, but nobody inside noticed. Back inside, Zanna was still awake and feeling hungry after a night of drinking, so she ordered some doordash and the food showed up around 4am she brought it back to her room and scrolled through TikTok while Ethan slept, completely unaware of what was about to happen next.
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Katie Ring
Shortly after 4am on November 13, 2022, a mass intruder slipped into the house at 1122 King Road. Everyone was fast asleep until something woke Dylan Mortensen up in her room on the main Floor. She thought she'd heard a noise, but figured that it might just be Kaylee's dog upstairs. So she decided to let it go. But then she heard something else. A scream. Followed by what sounded like Kaylee's voice saying, there's someone here. Dylan got up and cracked her door to check it out, but she didn't see anything. She figured she must have imagined it, or maybe they were playing with Kaylee's dog. So she closed her door and got back into bed. But then she heard more strange noises, and not the kind that would come from a dog. Dylan's instincts were telling her that something was wrong. And then she heard it. A man's voice saying, it's okay. I'm going to help you. Dylan wondered if maybe one of Ethan's frat brothers was playing a prank on him. So around 4:20am she called Zanna, but she didn't pick up. Then she tried calling Kaylee, but she didn't answer either. After that, a few minutes went by and Dylan didn't hear anything. So she got back up and peeked outside again. And this time she saw him. A masked man, about 5 foot 10 with bushy eyebrows. He was dressed completely in black and he was walking in her direction. He was holding something. It was too dark to tell what it was, but to Dylan it almost looked like a handheld vacuum. Thankfully, he walked right past her room. As they slipped out the sliding door and left, Dylan had no idea what to do. She knew she could get easily startled, and her friends would even sometimes joke about how she would call them anytime a random noise freaked her out and it would always end up being nothing. But regardless, Dylan was still freaked out. So she decided to call her roommate Bethany, who was in her room on the first level, and tell her what happened after that. Between 4:21 and 4:22am Bethany tried calling Zanna, Ethan, and Maddie. When they didn't answer, Bethany told Dylan to come downstairs so at least they could be together. When Dylan stepped out of her room, she looked down the hallway towards Santa's room. The door was open and she could see Zanna lying on the floor. Dylan told herself that maybe she'd passed out after drinking too much. But regardless, she was really freaked out and something in her gut told her not to go in there. So she rushed downstairs to Bethany's room. Once they were together, the two of them kept trying to call other housemates from Bethany's phone, but nobody answered. The two of them huddled together for the next few hours. By 11am on the 13th, the house was still silent and nobody was responding to any of their messages. Something just felt off. So they gathered themselves and headed upstairs. Zanna's door was still open and she was lying in the same position that Dylan had seen her in earlier. Again, she told herself that Zanna was still passed out. But that horrible feeling that something was wrong hadn't gone away. So Dylan grabbed Bethany. Then they headed outside and called their friends who lived nearby. Hunter, Emily, and Josie. These were the friends Dylan usually called anytime she freaked out over a small noise. So when she asked them to come over, they figured it was just one of those situations. But when they walked up to 1122 King Road and saw Dylan and Bethany standing outside, they could tell it was actually serious. Both girls were quiet with their hands over their mouths, like they were processing something really disturbing. Everyone decided to wait outside while Hunter went in to check things out. The first thing he did was head straight to Zanna's room. And he knew immediately that she wasn't asleep. Hunter could tell that both Zanna and Ethan were dead from what looked like stab wounds. Neither of them had a pulse. But when Hunter went back outside, he didn't want to freak everyone out even more. So he just told them he'd found an unconscious person and to call 911. He was just trying to protect them. But there was no sugarcoating what they were about to find out.
True Crime Expert/Advocate
At the end of each episode, we'll be going off the record where I'll
Katie Ring
give my thoughts about the case and answer any questions you've submitted. This case is just so heartbreaking and senseless. Other than the obvious reasons you were drawn to this case. Like everyone else, were there specific details to the case or investigation in general that pulled you in?
True Crime Expert/Advocate
Surprisingly, when the crime first happened, I didn't follow it that closely. I think for a few reasons at that time, I wasn't really covering true crime. I felt like the case was also oddly close to home for some reason and partially because I didn't really like how much scrutiny and speculation around this case especially. I felt really bad for the roommates and I'll talk about that later. But those were the things that kind of turned me off about this case at first. Where I became more invested was and involved in the case was when they were preparing for trial. What I love to do is I love to look at the evidence and to see, you know, my perspectives on the case and hopefully get justice for the victims in the end.
Katie Ring
As an advocate for victims and as a self defense expert, a lot of people to this day question their surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen's reaction the night and early morning of the murders. What do you make of her behavior?
True Crime Expert/Advocate
This one makes me really sad, especially because people are still hanging on to the theory that the surviving roommates were involved. And everyone wants to believe that they would act perfectly in a scenario like this, but the reality is that people don't. You don't have full control over your trauma responses. They are automatic. Many people's reactions to traumatic situations don't make sense to a lot of people. And survivors of violent events report freezing, withdrawing, dissociating, or taking time to process what happened before actually reacting. Another thing was that everyone in the house was extremely intoxicated. So at face value, yes, it seems very odd that they didn't call 911 right away. But then I also look back to my college days. I went to ucsb, which is a big party school. Idaho is a big party school. And I slept through some of the craziest shit you can imagine. You know, people are constantly partying, screaming, yelling. I've slept through mattresses getting set on fire in the street. So you kind of get used to sleeping with all that noise in the background.
Katie Ring
And in the ring camera footage that
True Crime Expert/Advocate
they released, you hear a lot of people yelling, cheering and screaming. And some of those screams did sound like horror screams, but again, that's not out of place to hear in a party town, even though that sounds crazy. But I'm seeing these videos online of people claiming that these screams or the roommates getting tortured or that the cheering was trying to cover screams. But the timestamps for Those were around 2:30am and Zanna ordered DoorDash and was scrolling TikTok at 4:00am, so that doesn't really check out. I've also had anxious friends who have come to me when they thought something happened, or people who have taken too strong of an edible and I've had to talk them down. So Dylan was known for being dramatic in these situations. Like, her friends even joked that if
Katie Ring
she ever heard a noise, she would
True Crime Expert/Advocate
call them and, like she would get spooked really easily. So traumatic events often cause the brain to struggle to accept what it's seeing or hearing. In the interview after the fact, you see Dylan saying, this doesn't happen in Moscow. Like, this is a safe place. And so that's the deeper thought they had. This is a safe place. I'm just being silly. This isn't really happening. Like, I'm just being dramatic. So that's one reason you're not going to call the police because you don't want to be like, oh God, I was just being so dramatic. Another reason you add in underage drinking, and that's another incentive not to call the police because you don't want to
Katie Ring
get in trouble for that.
True Crime Expert/Advocate
In hindsight, please always call the police, even if you think you're overreacting because it can help save people's lives. There's literally no evidence of any motive or incentive or planning that these roommates had done. Like, the officers took their phone. So if there was any evidence that they had intention of doing this, they would have discovered that. So just saying because someone didn't call 911 fast enough that they murder four
Katie Ring
people is, like, kind of egregious. Thanks so much for joining me for this episode. If you're watching on YouTube, make sure to subscribe below. If you're listening on audio, please rate, review and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes. And to get all episodes at once ad free. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. Come back tomorrow for our next episode on the Idaho College Murders.
In the first installment of a three-part series, host Katie Ring shifts the focus of the notorious 2022 Idaho student murders from sensationalized headlines and the alleged perpetrator, Bryan Kohberger, to the lives, dreams, and personalities of the four student victims. This episode resonates as a humanizing portrait of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Zanna Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, detailing their backgrounds, the tight-knit bonds that united them, and the chilling days and hours leading up to the tragedy. Katie, joined by a true crime expert/advocate, also addresses common misconceptions and unjust scrutiny faced by the surviving roommates, providing important context for trauma responses.
Maddie Mogen & Kaylee Goncalves
Zanna Kernodle & Ethan Chapin
The House & Group Dynamics
Humanizing the Victims:
"They're the real story. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears. That's what really tells you what it means to be human." — Katie Ring ([02:47])
Setting the Scene:
"It was the picture-perfect college experience. But in October of 2022, the dream started to feel more like a nightmare." — Katie Ring ([10:47])
On Trauma Responses:
"Traumatic events often cause the brain to struggle to accept what it's seeing or hearing... You don't have full control over your trauma responses." — True Crime Expert/Advocate ([22:40], [24:39])
Rejection of Conspiracy Theories:
"There’s literally no evidence... so just saying because someone didn’t call 911 fast enough that they murdered four people is, like, kind of egregious." — True Crime Expert/Advocate ([25:18])
The episode strikes a balance between compassion and forensic detail, deliberately highlighting the humanity of the victims while providing a clear-sighted, evidence-based review of events. The contributors’ tone is empathetic, persistent in debunking harmful narratives and misinformation, particularly around trauma and survivor behavior.
Idaho Murders: The Lives Behind the Headlines Pt. 1 stands out for centering the stories and personalities of four young victims, challenging the media’s fixation with suspects and sensationalism. Katie Ring and her expert guest provide context, insight, and a much-needed corrective to misguided suspicions about the surviving roommates. This sensitive, comprehensive narrative lays the groundwork for deeper investigation into the case and its aftermath in upcoming episodes.
Next episode: The immediate aftermath and the early investigation unfold.