Idaho
Murdered Idaho students honored as campus hopes to 'bring that light back' nearly two years later
On a bright Wednesday afternoon at the University of Idaho, students and staff unveiled a new garden memorial to honor the four students killed Nov. 13, 2022, and other students the school has lost since.
The Vandal Healing Garden, created by students at the University of Idaho College of Art and Architecture, opened two days after fall classes officially began this week.
“It was so well done, and it was a day meant to recognize the time and effort of the kids who built it,” Stacy Chapin, whose son Ethan Chapin was among the four Idaho students murdered in 2022, told Fox News Digital.
One side of the memorial is dedicated to Ethan, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, while the other side is a place for all University of Idaho families who have experienced loss to reflect on their loved ones, Chapin explained.
BRYAN KOHBERGER TRIAL SET TO BEGIN JUNE 2025 IN IDAHO MURDERS CASE
The University of Idaho unveiled a new garden memorial Wednesday in honor of the four students killed in November 2022 and all the university students who have died since then. (University of Idaho)
Stacy Chapin said she felt “amazing” support from her son’s fraternity brothers, her daughter’s sorority sisters, the university and the community as a whole.
“It was an amazing day.”
Part of the November 2022 side of the memorial includes a structure that reflects all four students’ favorite colors, Chapin explained.
The University of Idaho on Wednesday unveiled a new memorial dedicated by the community. (University of Idaho)
Ethan’s friend and fraternity brother, Drew Giacomazzi, was one of the students tasked with helping to create the memorial.
Giacomazzi told Fox News Digital the garden was an 18-month project, completely funded by the community, that involved lots of meetings between students, school staff and design professionals. He said he was “at a loss for words” when he saw the final outcome this week.
In his speech Wednesday, he said the university felt “dark, cold and distant” after the murders, and “the intent of the Healing Garden is to build a unique space that unites University of Idaho students, alumni and the Moscow community.”
“Do more of what you love to honor Kaylee. Spread that love with random acts of kindness to honor Maddie. Be silly and do something spontaneous and fun to honor Xana. And tell stories with an abundance of laughter to honor Ethan,” Giacomazzi said in his speech.
The University of Idaho recently unveiled a new memorial dedicated by the community. (University of Idaho)
The University of Idaho said in a statement posted on Facebook that the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial was “designed, vetted and built” by students with guidance from faculty and alumni. The memorial is “a testament to the inspirational response from our community and a symbol of” the university’s strength as a community, the statement said.
The school added that the garden “is a space to come together in moments of grief and reflection and to honor the Vandal students” that the school has lost.
IDAHO STUDENTS’ FORMER ROOMMATE BREAKS SILENCE AS JUDGE CLOSES SUSPECT KOHBERGER’S NEXT HEARING
Nov. 13 will mark two years since 20-year-old Kernodle and Chapin and 21-year-old Goncalves and Mogen were murdered in a student rental home just yards from campus in the middle of the night.
Ethan Chapin’s name is displayed on the University of Idaho Vandal Healing Garden memorial. (University of Idaho)
Xana Kernodle’s name is displayed on the University of Idaho Vandal Healing Garden memorial. (University of Idaho)
Kaylee Goncalves’ name is displayed on the University of Idaho Vandal Healing Garden memorial. (University of Idaho)
Madison May Mogen’s name is displayed on the University of Idaho Vandal Healing Garden memorial. (University of Idaho)
Giacomazzi said he knew all four victims but was closest to Ethan, who was the kind of person to brighten an entire room with his laughter and make others feel “welcome.” He was in the airport visiting his sister in New York when he heard Ethan had died, and he recalled being in a state of shock when he found out what had happened.
“It was a really scary moment, and coming back it was surreal seeing news cameras there, and we just didn’t know what to do. Our fraternity didn’t know what to do. I think the university was just kind of stunned and didn’t know what to do. It was a weird time in Moscow,” Giacomazzi recalled.
“This Healing Garden is just an area to bring that light back to campus.”
The memorial will help students “go through those emotions” of grief “and feel safe while doing it,” Giacomazzi added. “There are obviously buildings and areas of campus like that before, but there was nothing purposefully designed and dedicated to those kinds of emotions, and this Healing Garden is just an area to bring that light back to campus.”
University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen died Nov. 13, 2022. (University of Idaho)
University of Idaho President Scott Green said in his remarks Wednesday that the tragedy provided the “impetus” for the garden memorial.
“We lost four shining lights full of life and promise. This garden memorial is dedicated to them and the University of Idaho,” Green said. “It’s a reminder that even in times of sadness and darkness, we can always find light.”
Suspect Bryan Kohberger, a 29-year-old criminology Ph.D. student at the neighboring University of Washington in Pullman, is suspected of stabbing the four students in their rooms in the early morning hours of that Sunday. He pleaded not guilty and is expected to stand trial next year.
BRYAN KOHBERGER ASKS COURT FOR CHANGE OF VENUE AFTER DELAYS IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS TRIAL
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Kohberger is asking for his trial to be moved out of Latah County, the close-knit college community where the murders took place.
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“A fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County owing to the extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces,” Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead defense attorney, wrote in a February court filing.
The defendant’s efforts to change the trial venue are ongoing.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
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