On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students – Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen – were found dead in their home. the last three are rented near the campus. Each was stabbed, apparently in bed. Two other students lived in the house and were apparently in their rooms that night; they were not harmed.
From the public’s point of view, the case initially had several aspects: an unknown assailant, an unknown motive. Law enforcement agencies in the college town of Moscow, Idaho, initially gave little public information about the evidence they gathered in their investigation. Into this void came public speculation and, before long, public accusations. A familiar alchemy began: As the weeks wore on, true crime became “true crime”; the murders became a grim form of interactive entertainment as people discussed them, analyzed them, and raced to solve them.
Unfounded rumors have spread on the internet as people who have nothing to do with the slain students try to make sense of the senseless crime. They not only kill the aggressor or several of them, but also drugs, revenge, violence, etc. They dig deep into students’ TikToks and Instagram feeds for clues. They wrote the lives and deaths of students. As the weeks passed, their number increased. A Facebook group created to discuss and speculate about the crimes now has more than 230,000 members. Subreddits dedicated to the same topic each have over 100,000 members. Their writings range from minor forensics—analysis of autopsy reports and knives allegedly used in murders—to extensive theoretical accounts. (A post from DeuxMoi touching on a blind item had Kim Kardashian wondering out loud if she was going to get involved.)
Most of the members who have and continue to offer their theories are probably well meaning. Amateur sleuths helped uncover the identities of some of the Golden State serial killer’s victims; The mother of Gabby Petiton, who was murdered in 2021, praised the many people who played a crucial role in solving her daughter’s murder by searching for clues on social media. But the mob’s pursuit of justice in Idaho crimes tended to obstruct justice itself. This made it difficult to investigate on the ground and created more victims as baseless accusations flew. With remarkable ease, some people’s pain has become another’s conundrum.
Theories about the murders sometimes read like fan fiction. People on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube pointed fingers based on strong imaginations and no evidence – accusations that were later reinforced by others. Soon, fantastic theories entered the lives of real people. The posters burned two unharmed housemates. (They should “know more than they’re letting on,” noted one video caption.) They set their sights on the owner of the food truck where two of the students stopped before heading home the night of the murder. (“Could it be a stalker??” wondered one scammer.) Law enforcement investigating the “real” crime online eliminated both the housemates and the truck owner as suspects. The Moscow Police Department’s website now has a “Rumor Control” section that attempts to combat some of the fraudulent misinformation in its FAQ section. Among the questions the unit answers are, “Who is not believed to be involved?”, “What resources are being used to investigate this murder?” and “Are the skinned dogs connected to this murder?” have questions. (They’re not.)
“Everybody wants something crazier than that. He there is One of the detectives who provided information on Gabby Petito’s case says in a documentary that premiered months after her murder. It is not the main word in the interpretation of the woman crazier; this wants. The amateur detectives in the Petito case may certainly have been motivated by generosity and anger and a passion for justice. But they also gained from being there: followers, likes, the volatile currencies of the content economy.
Speculation about the Idaho murders has sparked similar outrage. To read — or scroll, or watch — all the theories is to feel the appropriation at play: People weren’t just trying to solve the case, they were trying to claim the tragedy for themselves. (“Please stop making these poor kids your own,” he implored in a recent Reddit post, which has been upvoted more than 2,200 times.) Despite repeated attempts by investigators to quell it, the baseless, sometimes fanciful, speculation continued. They said the rumors add chaos to their investigation. They brought more trauma to people in mourning.
In their efforts to verify the claim, official investigators encountered the most powerful of enemies: the trending topic. Murders—very specific types of victims and particularly gruesome circumstances—quickly became a topic of national interest. This has also made them motivating issues for content creators. on YouTube, Vanity FairDelia Cai noted that the top crime news clips each had more than 1 million views. TikTok videos claiming to be related to the crimes — #idahocase, #idahocaseupdate, #idahokiller — now have a combined total of more than 400 million views. This true crime does not have the burden of justice and proof that a true crime carries. Content, in the economy of the eyeball, is tautological. When attention is its own reward, a charming approach is more valuable than an authentic one. The dull tragedy beneath the stark tragedy is this: There were many murders.
As strangers posted on the story — they created more grief, competing “to make a connection or unravel a mystery, often for likes, shares, clicks and attention,” as one expert put it. Some of the victims’ friends and classmates began receiving death threats as they mourned. People posted names and pictures of people who knew the victims, accusing them of vague ties to the crime. (The posters usually kept themselves anonymous.) One YouTuber analyzed the “red flags” that Kylie Goncalves was allegedly represented by her ex-boyfriend. New York Post, a complex trauma: grieving the loss of a woman he had been dating for five years and coming to terms with the fact that “half of America” believed him to be a murderer. He was taken out as a suspect by law enforcement agencies. But the hypothesis will remain – it will be twisted by posters armed with guesses and will remain in the archives.
And so, in the name of finding justice, many lost their humanity. They treated real people as characters in a procedural broadcast on their phones and computers, not their televisions.CSI or Law and Order, plays in real time. They, in turn, treated the characters as texts to be read, analyzed, and reviled. People looking to make big discoveries have looked at the obituaries of other University of Idaho students who have died in recent years, trying to link their deaths to the murders. The father of one of those students asked them to stop trying to connect his son’s death with these other dead children.
On December 30, police arrested 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, a doctoral student in Washington state, just before Moscow. Kohberger studied criminology. He is currently being held without bail in Idaho, charged with four counts of murder and one count of robbery. His lawyer said that he “desires to be acquitted”. Among the evidence investigators will use to link him to the crime are cell phone data, surveillance footage and DNA samples. Earlier this week, authorities prosecuting the case released a 49-page document outlining facts gathered during weeks of investigations. Some of the information is similar to internet theories. There aren’t many.
Criminal procedure is a uniquely formulaic genre. One of its key elements is the cathartic conclusion: the big reveal, the shocking twist. This story will probably not have such a payoff for the audience. Kohberger will be tried and may or may not be found guilty. Prosecutors will cite detailed and circumstantial evidence to make their case. Meanwhile, the speculation will continue — despite the arrest and, authorities say, the harm done to people who had nothing to do with the case. Shortly after the murders, TikToker Ashley Guillard claimed to have opened the case. He said the killings were ordered by a University of Idaho history professor. (Actually, by the chair of his history department.) Guillard shared the professor’s photo in videos that have been viewed more than 2 million times. Guillard says he drew conclusions from a deck of Tarot cards and held firm to his presumption that the professor was guilty, even though the official investigation did not consider him a suspect. But Guillard defied the facts. It will continue, he said The The Washington Post-even now the professor filed a defamation suit against him, citing that he damaged his reputation and feared for his safety. “I will continue to post,” Guillard said. “I’m not taking anything away.”