University of Idaho Murder Victim’s Mother Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Tragedy
Karen Laramie, the mother of 21-year-old Madison Mogen, spoke publicly for the first time since the quadruple homicide in 2022. Mogen and three other students, including her best friend Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death in their house just steps from the U of I campus on November 13, 2022.
“It’s real, but I know where the girls are, and faith is really the basis of how you get up every morning when you have a loss this deep,” Laramie said when asked if the gravity of her daughter’s death feels “real.”
Laramie described Mogen as “a joy” in her younger years and a genuinely kind person as she grew into adulthood. She recalled a string cheese fight between Mogen and her husband Scott when Mogen was eight, and another time when Mogen called her cousin on Veterans Day to thank him for his service.
Mogen’s family, along with Goncalves’ family and Kernodle’s family, created the Made With Kindness Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to provide scholarship funds, grief wellness seminars, and comprehensive on-campus safety awareness. Chapin’s family also started a charitable foundation called Ethan’s Smile, which will fund scholarships for students in Skagit Valley, Washington, to the University of Idaho.
Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former Ph.D. student, is accused of fatally stabbing the four students in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to the crime and faces the death penalty if convicted. His trial is scheduled for August 2024.
Laramie expressed her feelings about the lengthy justice process, stating, “I feel like the legal system is not about the victims, and I’ll leave it at that.”