Tag Archives: Moscow

Today is day to honor five special dads

As we mark Father’s Day here nationwide, it is important to say thank you to all the dads having made a difference.

While I never had children, I can only imagine the sacrifices that both men and women put into raising one child or multiples ones.

The deaths last fall of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin not only rocked Moscow, Idaho, but countless other towns and cities across the country. The four were brutally murdered in the off campus home that Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle lived in. Chapin, boyfriend of Kernodle, was spending the night there.

Steve Goncalves, Ben Mogen, Steve Laramie (stepfather of Madison Mogen), Jeff Kernodle and Jim Chapin face their first Father’s Day without their beloved children killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13.

While there will be plenty of time to talk more about the case moving forward, today is a day to send love to Steve G., Ben, Steve, Jeff and Jim.

I think it is safe to say after this tragic event that Kaylee, Madison, Xana and Ethan have millions of adopted parents nationwide now wanting justice for them and their families.

Trust me when I say that many will make sure the four are not forgotten.

For those five fathers having their first Father’s Day without their University of Idaho kids today, you are not forgotten either.

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Has social media world already convicted Kohberger?

If you spend a ton of time on social media as I do for both work and personal interests, you may well have seen the hashtag #BryanKohberger. Another popular one is #Idaho4.

Sadly, both hashtags and others like them refer to the Nov. 13, 2022 killings of four young adults in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.

Sometime in the 3 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. time frame that Sunday, four lives were ended in a matter of minutes. Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would not live to see the sun come up. For the four families of these University of Idaho students, their lives were taken that day in a manner too.

As we are now some seven months past the tragedy, those following the case continue to have opinions. Those opinions are often found on various social media platforms on a daily basis. Among the most popular for such opinions are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube and more.

While social media can be great for sharing information, learning about topics, and even helping in time of crimes such as kids gone missing, the social networking world has its dark side too.

If you go into various chat groups regarding the Idaho 4 case, you will discover that Kohberger has already been convicted in the court of social media. No trial, no presumed innocent until proven guilty etc. To many people partaking in these social media chats, the Pennsylvania native should get what may be coming to him. If this was the Old West, I think we would already have had a hanging if up to many of these folks.

I honestly do not know like the majority of others out there if Kohberger in fact did kill these four students. He may well have. If so, I hope he gets the maximum sentence and I would not bat an eye if that meant the death penalty.

On the flip side of the coin, I’m not ready to convict him or anyone else for that matter until I have heard and seen all the evidence from both the prosecution and defense.

What seemed to many (including myself early on) like an open and shut case has opened some eyes of late.

Like many individuals, I’m guilty of repeating myself at times. As such, cut me a little slack if you have read or heard the following from me before:

  • How does one individual go into a home in presumably dark conditions or limited lighting at best and wipe out four healthy young adults with only a knife in 13 minutes or so and on two different floors? Is it possible? By all means it is possible. Is it a slam dunk case for the prosecution? Hell no. Even if you assume all four students were drunk or even had drugs in their systems, you would have to catch them at just the right time, take out a key artery in a matter of seconds, not having to worry about any of them putting up a defense. Mind you this is all the while as you don’t know how many others are in the home and may be alerted to what one would think would be some screaming and other such commotion.
  • How does a person then after committing such a heinous crime leave the home with no trail of blood? If these murders were as ugly as we were led to believe from initial police reports, the killer should have blood all over them. Did they take a change of clothes with them and disrobe after killing the four? Seems like the last thing you would want to do would be take time to change clothes, especially when you could have others still alive in the home and a dog also.
  • Speaking of others in the home alive, why no attack on the two surviving roommates we’ve come to know as Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke? Hey, I am certainly happy both survived this early morning terror. But why did they live and the other four die? This is where my mind begins to drift to the possibility of this being some sort of drug hit and certain lives were left unharmed for a reason.
  • Why have toxicology results on the four victims and the infamous 911 call some 7-8 hours after the attacks not been released? How could one or both compromise the case and BK’s right to a fair trial? I am especially interested in the toxicology reports on the four. If one, several or all of them had drugs in their systems, this would lend more credibility to this being a drug hit.
  • When it comes to the infamous video most of us have seen now, what exactly did Mogen tell Adam (the bartender at a local club)? Goncalves is seen with Mogen and a male downtown hours before the two women are killed. In that video (https://tinyurl.com/3hu8pdu5), Mogen tells Goncalves she told Adam everything. Was it just talk about a guy or something involving drugs?
  • Did the University of Idaho and City of Moscow officials want a quick arrest following the Nov. 13 murders? While BK wasn’t arrested for nearly six weeks after the crimes, you can bet U of I and Moscow businesses were happy. Having an alleged serial killer roaming Moscow is not good for business on many fronts. With that in mind, did they get the right guy? Better yet, if BK in fact is the guy, did he have help? If yes, then we still have one or more criminals walking the streets of Moscow or are long gone by now.

While I participate in different social media chats regarding the case, I always go into them with an open mind. You are always going to have some people who want a conviction based more on emotion than the facts.

Time will tell if authorities got the right guy.

Meantime, some on social media are hoping BK and the death penalty go hand in hand.

So, with the evidence we have today (no doubt the police have more), would you easily convict BK in the murders of the Idaho 4?

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Could a cover up be taking place in Moscow?

What happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022 in Moscow, Idaho was tragic to say the least.

Four young lives with so much future ahead of them snuffed out in a matter of minutes.

When news broke of the Idaho 4 murders, many people were naturally stunned, appalled, upset and more. Imagine for a moment what the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were going through. Now some seven months later, the families are still torn by what many are thinking was not imaginable.

How could four young college students be dealt such a brutal ending to lives they barely had time to enjoy?

Some six weeks or so after the unimaginable happened at 1122 King Road, an individual was arrested on the other side of the country. As we work our way through the middle of June, Bryan Kohberger, 28, remains in a Moscow jail, charged with four counts of felony murder and one count of felony burglary.

So, is it likely that the police narrative that Kohberger broke into the home and killed the four students is in fact the truth?

There are Facebook groups dedicated to talking about the infamous case, what likely went down, what the future may hold as far as justice and so on. To many people in one group on FB (University of Idaho Murders – Case Discussion), Kohberger, who is presumed innocent until proven guilty, has already been convicted in the court of social media. If you mention the possibility of other alternatives, possible drug sales playing a role in the killings etc. you may well be labeled a conspiracy person.

I must admit that early on in the case and for a few months after, I took the bait. That was this was a stalking case of one or two of the women in the home and the suspect murdered those he could not have. Sadly, one or more of the victims may have been collateral damage on the morning of Nov. 13.

As time has passed, however, I am more inclined to think something more nefarious may be going on. Yes, I am beginning to think there may be a cover up to some degree or another happening.

Whenever a case of this magnitude finds its way into the world of social media, there will inevitably be many rumors, thoughts and the like as to what may have gone down. The Idaho 4 case is by no means any different.

While I have not a shred of evidence at the moment to back this up, my suspicion radar has been turning upwards in recent weeks. With that in mind, here is one possible scenario I see having taken place.

Sadly, drugs may well have played a role in the tragedy that unfolded that November morning at 1122 King Road. One or more people wanted one or more individuals in that home silenced over a possible drug sale gone bad, someone possibly going to authorities to rat one or more folks out, and even the possibility that higher ups in either the Moscow Police Department and/or the University of Idaho were afraid the public would learn some not so flattering news.

If you put your commonsense hat on for a moment, think about the following:

  • Most killers do not go into a strange home with multiple vehicles parked out front armed only with a knife. The risk of failure, being caught or even worse is relatively high. If you buy into the theory that Kohberger was stalking one or more of the females in the home, why not just follow and kidnap her at some point? Much less dangerous than going into a home where multiple boyfriends and/or guy buddies could be crashing for the night.
  • Why no blood trail (at least that we know of) leading from the home to a getaway car? There is all but no way all the reported blood from four victims cut open with a knife would not be carried outside to some degree. That is unless the suspect had help on the inside to get cleaned up and have what one would assume would be bloody clothing destroyed.
  • Why have the police not released toxicology reports on the four victims? I have heard multiple times how most if not all the victims were drunk to some degree when attacked. As such, they were not in a good position to know what was happening and/or fight back. Release the info along with the 911 call. Neither will taint a planned October trial. Is someone trying to hide something?
  • Was Kohberger arrested because he in fact is the lone killer? Or, was this an arrest requested by higher ups at MPD and U of I to quell fear in the community, keep a lid on potentially losing many students for the second semester? The potential for many students deciding not to come back after holiday break was there. Face it; Moscow in large part depends on the University of Idaho to keep going. Lose a big chunk of that revenue and suddenly businesses may be forced to close.

Like the majority of people, I was not in the home those early morning hours when all of this went down. As such, I do not know what truly transpired.

What I do know is that most alleged killers are not brazen enough to waltz into a strange home at 4 or so in the morning minus a gun and not knowing what may be on the other side of the door.

So, do you think Bryan Kohberger simply had a thing for one or more of the women living there and was determined to carry out what may have been some kind of sick fantasy?

Or, do you think that BK is being framed by some in power who don’t want one or more dirty secrets about Moscow getting out to the public?

Thank you very much for reading and please share your thoughts.

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How vulnerable was the home on King Road?

What made 1122 King Road stand out to a killer?

When you stand outside the property and walk around it, nothing stands out of note.

Having seen the house in person Memorial Day weekend, I was amazed at how much more compact the neighborhood is than what you see on television. Being there in person gives you an even better appreciation of how on top of one another these homes and apartments are.

That said, the home at 1122 had to stand out for some reason to the alleged killer.

Even more perplexing is did this quadruple murder have to take place to begin with?

The prevailing theory is that the killer entered the home from the kitchen patio door on what is considered the second floor of the three-story residence. It is also reported from one of the two surviving roommates that the killer left the home through that same sliding door.

While it is easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, there were several deficiencies that made the residents at 1122 more vulnerable.

The most glaring one to me was the fact that the patio was accessible to anyone who wanted to go there.

Imagine for a moment if that patio had been surrounded by a big gate and/or fence. Yes, the killer may well had still be able to get in. That said, a big gate/fence surrounding the patio outside the kitchen door would have made it much more challenging. Also, think about how security cameras may have led a killer to think twice about entering. The individual who owned the home at the time of the killings has since given the property to the University of Idaho. It is now boarded up and much more difficult for someone to break in (there is also security there 24/7 now).

We also do not know if the residents (Kaylee, Maddie, Xana, Bethany, Dylan) locked the doors on a regular basis. If they did not, this would have made it so much easier for the killer to come in.

Let’s be honest…. it is Moscow, Idaho and not Chicago or Los Angeles. You’re not expecting to have a quadruple homicide in a town of some 25,000 people. As such, it would not be terribly uncommon for many people to not lock their doors and windows in this quaint little college town.

The old adage that a killer will do whatever it takes to kill is true. Even better security at 1122 King Road may not have prevented this tragedy.

At the end of the day, however, that home was vulnerable as were its occupants on that fateful Nov. 13 morning.

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