MOSCOW, Idaho — TikToks, podcasts, online forums: it seemed every corner of the internet was infatuated with the senseless murders of four Idaho college students.
Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were tragically stabbed and killed in an off-campus home on the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022. The murders shocked the Moscow community, as well as the nation. Within a matter of days, it seemed like the entire country knew the names and faces of the young victims, and had their own theories about what happened to them.
But the author of a book about the case wants the public to stop speculating and continue focusing on the victims.
The murders were not left behind in the 24-hour news cycle. The hashtag #Idaho4 began trending on Twitter as network television crews, TikTokers and YouTubers flocked to the small college town of Moscow.
"It was college kids. This is horrific, it's just horrific," said Andra Griffin, a YouTuber who goes by Bullhorn Betty on her channel. "Whether this made national news or not, we were coming regardless because we just wanted to support the community. We wanted to support these families, we wanted to support the victims."
Investigators remained tightlipped for nearly two months, for good reason; despite this, people wanted answers, and some internet sleuths began to create their own.
However, no one except police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had Bryan Kohberger on their radar.
When the Washington State University (WSU) Ph.D. student was arrested in Pennsylvania over winter break and touched down on the Palouse days later, the national spotlight intensified.
It's been one year since the murders occurred, and J. Reuben Appelman has already written a book about the case, which he called "the perfect setup" for a social media frenzy.
"Some people say, 'Well, how can you have this book without the trial?'" he said. "I never intended to write a book that included the trial. This was, to me, not about Bryan Kohberger."
Appelman said his book "While Idaho Slept": provides more context on the case and focuses on the victims and the community.
"It was about how the community repairs itself, how communities in general repair themselves from the visitation of this kind of violence, how the surviving family members find hope in their lives," he explained.
The decision to write the book wasn't just influenced by all the attention the case received; Appelman's daughter went to the University of Idaho, and he's lived in the state for decades. According to him, violence like this never leaves the community.
"We think a year is a long time, but in their hearts and the psyche and in their, what we could call inherited trauma, a year, it's nothing," Appelman said. "There are a lot of people out there that are living with a lot of heartbreak, even if they didn't know these students."
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