‘We will remember’: Hundreds gather at Boise State in honor of four U of I victims
Hundreds of students, staff members and local residents gathered in front of the Boise State University administration building to honor the lives of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
The four students were found dead Sunday in an off-campus home in Moscow where three of them lived. Chapin was spending the night with Kernodle, whom he was dating, according to his mother.
Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told the Idaho Statesman that the cause of death for the students was stabbing, and their deaths have been classified as homicides. Mabbutt told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News that it would have had to have been “a large knife.”
BSU President Marlene Tromp spoke at the vigil Thursday night, recalling her time at the University of Florida when five students were fatally stabbed in an incident. Thirty-two years later, Tromp said she continues to remember her classmates, and she believes Idaho will continue to remember the lives of the four Vandals.
“Today I wear the black and gold of the University of Idaho,” she told the crowd. “Today, our long-standing rivalry is set aside. Today, we come together to create light in a painful and dark time. We are all Vandals. Ethan. Xana. Madison. Kaylee. We will remember.”
The university invited students who personally knew the victims to speak at the vigil. One student read a statement on behalf of a student named Carly, who was said to be a friend of the three female victims.
“I remember jumping on the trampoline and watching ‘MTV Cribs’ at Kaylee’s house, to watching reality TV and trying on makeup at Maddie’s,” the friend wrote. “They are people who shaped who I am today in crucial years in my life, and I will always think fondly of the friendships I had with them.”
Trevor Drummond, a student at BSU, said he first met Kernodle as a junior in high school.
“Xana, she treated me like I was part of the friend group for years,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone as outgoing, fun or loving as her. Whenever we were hanging out, she would always make sure others around her were having more fun than she was.”
Another friend, Elizabeth Scarlett, said she grew up in Coeur d’Alene and shared many memories with Goncalves and Kernodle.
Scarlett said she joined the Alpha Phi sorority in her freshman year alongside Goncalves at the University of Idaho, and recalled the times Goncalves gave her advice and comforted her. During college, she said, she remained close friends with Kernodle.
“I sadly was not that close with Ethan, but through Xana, he seemed to be an amazing guy,” Scarlett said. “He always supported her and complemented her personality perfectly.”
“Xana was truly an EDM queen, and she gave me my current love for the genre, and I will always remember her when I hear any Louis the Child song,” Scarlett said. “She was driven academically and truly loved where she was heading in life. I know she is watching over us and keeping the party.”
Boise State held the event one day after community members in Coeur d’Alene organized a vigil. The University of Idaho announced it will hold a vigil for students on Nov. 30, after Thanksgiving break.
Moscow Police have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 208-883-7054.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 8:15 PM.
