Family of Moscow murder victim starts nonprofit to use DNA and reopen cold cases
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- Murder Has a Name nonprofit launched to help solve violent crimes with DNA.
- The nonprofit is fundraising to provide private funding for IGG and forensic lab services.
- Advisory board that includes Nancy Grace and Chris Hansen to help choose recipients.
The parents of one of the four University of Idaho students killed three and a half years ago have launched a nonprofit in honor of their daughter, aimed at helping other victims of violent crime and their families resolve cases.
Steve and Kristi Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee Goncalves was fatally stabbed in November 2022 in Moscow, co-founded the organization, which will offer private funding to help solve cold cases with advanced DNA techniques like the one used to catch the man who killed their daughter. They’ve titled it “Murder Has a Name” as part of their efforts to reduce emphasis on, and reclaim attention paid to, perpetrators.
“Every victim has a name. Every family deserves answers. Every case deserves the chance to be solved,” according to the nonprofit’s mission statement.
The couple, who live in Rathdrum in North Idaho, spent many months landing on the right focus for the organization to carry on the legacy of their daughter, whose life was cut short at 21 years old with three friends. The other victims were her childhood best friend, Madison Mogen, 21; roommate Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, who was Kernodle’s boyfriend.
“I cannot tell you how we felt after seven weeks of not knowing what happened,” Kristi Goncalves said in an interview with the Idaho Statesman. “When we got that answer, ‘This is who did that to your daughter,’ the weight of the world was for a moment off of our shoulders.”
The nonprofit has partnered with several private forensics labs across the country and is fundraising to cover the costs of DNA work like investigative genetic genealogy, or IGG, which was crucial in initially identifying Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to the crime. A single source of male DNA was located on a knife sheath found at the Moscow scene, and law enforcement submitted it to public databases to reverse engineer to whom it belonged. It was one of the first active murder cases to use IGG, whereas it was more commonly utilized in decades-old cold cases.
But many of those cold cases no longer have an advocate, including to pay for the costly DNA work needed to finally solve them, Steve Goncalves said. Their nonprofit intends to change that and provide the resources to kick-start investigations to bring them to a conclusion.
“We’re giving hope,” he told the Statesman. “Lots of families haven’t had it for decades. We’re taking somebody in their lowest moments — we were with them, and we’re still with them — and saying: ‘Hey, I don’t know how much it is, but you have hope now. There’s somebody who cares.’ ”
Working with genealogy service GEDmatch, the Goncalveses seek to address any privacy concerns members of the public may have about providing their DNA to such websites. They want to educate people about the importance of growing the number of profiles that can be accessed by forensic genealogists to find distant connections that may help positively identify unknown rapists and murderers and bring them to justice.
“Imagine telling true-crimers you’re not here as an … audience member, you’re here as an active participant,” Steve Goncalves said. “You can actually be part of the solution.”
The nonprofit is raising funds, and then will open an application process. From there, the Goncalveses, an advisory board — which includes true-crime household names like television personalities Nancy Grace and Chris Hansen (of “To Catch a Predator” fame) — and nonprofit executive director Tracie Brocco will choose the first recipients of money to reopen their cases through DNA.
Kristi Goncalves recalled feeling powerless and physically and emotionally overwhelmed before the suspect in her daughter’s case was arrested.
“I was at the point at that time that I did not feel like I was going to be able to live life,” she said. “I am not going to be able to continue living not knowing. And to think that there are families that do that every day for years … so it’s just about being able to give families answers.”
Steve and Kristi Goncalves and family visited the Treasure Valley over the weekend to promote their cause and attend an event that honored their daughter with a special purple dahlia in her name. A proclamation from Gov. Brad Little designated May 9 as “Kaylee Jade Dahlia Day” in Idaho, and proceeds from a silent auction held at Franz Witte garden center in Nampa went to the Goncalves’ foundation.
Donations can be made online to Murder Has a Name at its website: www.murderhasaname.com.
