Are Dylan and Bethany being treated unfairly?

As we just recently passed the eight month anniversary of the killings of four University of Idaho students at 1122 King Road on Nov. 13, 2022, the story still remains fresh in the minds of many.

One of the central focal points of this tragedy continues to be the two young women who were not killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13. That would be Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke.

As I said in another of my recent posts, I’m happy that the two were not also killed on that tragic morning. We could have been talking about six deaths instead of four had things played out differently.

With that in mind, here we are only a few months away from the tragic one year anniversary and with any hope at all a trial before that.

It stands to reason that one or both ladies will be called to be testify when we get to trial point in this case.

Keep in mind it was Mortensen in the PCA who said she saw an individual clad in black and wearing a mask with bushy eyebrows walk right by her second floor bedroom. So stunned by the sight, Mortensen said she went into a frozen state of shock. Heck, most people would be startled to some degree to see such a thing in a home they figured they’re safe in.

Meantime, it was assumed that Funke slept through all the horror one and two floors above her. While that may well be the case, one might also question the story given all the terror that went down in such a short span of time on the second and third floors of 1122 King Road.

So, being the only two tenants of the house to emerge alive, one may question if Mortensen and Funke have been untreated unfairly by some in the media, some in town and so on.

I think it is important to find a healthy balance here. No one should have to be in a home where one and let alone four of their friends are murdered in cold blood and be expected to emerge unscathed. On the flip side of the coin, it is only natural that authorities and the public in general would have questions of the two survivors.

There have been photos of late on social media of Funke in particular out and about in California. Among them was at a San Francisco Giants game and with friends in San Diego. Yes, a long distance from Moscow, Idaho where she was a student less than a year ago.

Now, I have zero issue with both Funke and Mortensen going about living their lives. As long as they truthfully testify at trial if called upon to do so, we can’t expect much more out of them.

Having said this, is it fair for people to snap pictures of them out in public months later? What I am asking simply is are they both hands off or do people have a right to be curious?

Unless it is proven down the road that one or both had a hand in the killings of their friends, both women should be allowed to go about living their lives.

With that in mind, do you think the ladies are fair game for pictures and respectful public comment when seen out and about? If not, why do you think the two key figures who’ve lived through a quadruple murder should be hands off?

Share your thoughts here and thank you as always for reading.

Photo credit: The Independent