Madison Mogen

Madison May Mogen, a 21-year-old marketing student at the University of Idaho, was one of four students fatally stabbed in an off-campus home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, during the early morning of November 13, 2022. The other victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Authorities said the attacks occurred between roughly 4:00 and 4:25 a.m. while two other roommates in the house survived unharmed. The killings drew intense national attention and, for nearly seven weeks, no suspect was publicly named, fueling widespread speculation.

Investigators from the Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Police and the FBI pursued several forensic leads. According to court records and police statements, DNA recovered from a leather knife sheath left at the scene was analyzed using investigative genetic genealogy, surveillance footage captured a white Hyundai Elantra making multiple passes near the residence, and cellphone location data placed a suspect's phone in the area. These threads led police to Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Police said DNA from the sheath was later matched to Kohberger.

Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022, at his family's home in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and was extradited to Latah County, Idaho, on January 4, 2023. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, and a grand jury returned an indictment on May 17, 2023. On July 2, 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all charges under a plea agreement that removed the possibility of the death penalty and waived his rights to appeal. On July 23, 2025, a judge sentenced him to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole plus 10 years for burglary. As of 2026 the case is fully adjudicated by conviction; victims' families were divided over the plea deal, with Madison Mogen's father among those who supported it.