A former fraternity sister of one of the four students killed last November has said the University of Idaho campus was a horrific place in the weeks following the killings.
Natalia Zieroth-Chaumont, a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and a sister of Kaylee Goncalves, speaks out six months after the horrific incidents that saw the four students brutally stabbed to death in their beds at a house near campus.
Zieroth-Chaumont knew Goncalves well, having belonged to the same sorority. But to deal with the devastating murders, she had to learn to put her personal feelings aside.
As a senior and housing counselor in a freshman residence, she felt that she needed to try to instill a sense of calm and help other freshmen through the shock of the tragedy.
Despite an increased security presence on campus for the remainder of this school year, she said she’s come to the realization that danger can lurk anywhere.
“Even super-safe places still have dangers.” “It definitely opened people’s eyes to real life,” Zieroth-Chaumont told the Idaho Press.
Natalia Zieroth-Chaumont, a member of the Alpha Phi sorority who was a sister of Kaylee Goncalves, speaks out six months after the murders
Maddie Mogen (above), Kaylee Goncalves (second from left), Xana Kernodle (second from right) and Ethan Chapin (center) – all University of Idaho students – were stabbed to death on November 13 in the quiet college town of Moscow. Idaho
Both the murdered Kaylee Goncalves and Natalia Zieroth-Chaumont were sisters of the Alpha Phi sorority
Pictured: (LR) Dylan Mortenson, Xana Kernodle, Bethany Funke, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen
The university where Kohberger worked was only 13 kilometers from the crime scene
Many students, including Zieroth-Chaumont, faced the difficult decision of whether to return to campus, and some chose not to come back after the Thanksgiving holiday.
“There were a lot of girls who didn’t come back after Thanksgiving,” Zieroth-Chaumont said.
Such a choice was not available to her as her role as a housing counselor prevented her from attending classes remotely.
One student compared the killings to Covid affecting campus life again.
“I want to say that in a way, we actually had two COVID illnesses,” said Matty Murphy.
Other students on campus say sentiment changed significantly after the suspect’s arrest about 47 days after the killings and 12 days before classes for the spring semester started.
“The lessons started in a much better position. “There is no doubt that the arrest did a great job of calming people down,” said Paul Gillespie, an Idaho grad student.
Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were all murdered in the early hours of November 13, 2022 at the home where they rented.
Police were alerted when an 911 call reported an unconscious person and the lifeless bodies of the four students on the second and third floors of the home.
All of the victims had been stabbed multiple times and some showed signs of having fought back against their attacker.
Two other housemates who were present and living in the house at the time survived.
Zieroth-Chaumont said the incident opened people’s eyes to the reality of life
Zieroth-Chaumont said many students are facing the difficult decision of whether to return to campus, and some have chosen not to come back after the Thanksgiving holiday
Slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves is shown with members of her Alpha Phi sorority in a tribute video posted by the group
Ethan Chapin (20), Xana Kernodle (20), Madison Mogen (21) and Kaylee Goncalves (21) were found dead in their student apartment in the shadow of the university campus
Kohberger’s home was ransacked hours after his December 30 arrest at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania
Kohberger’s Pullman, Washington home has been searched by police for evidence pertaining to the ongoing investigation – pictured January this year
In late December 2022, Bryan Kohberger, a criminology student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested and charged with violent stabbing, burglary and quadruple first-degree murder.
Kohberger, 29, reportedly stayed on campus in the weeks after the murders before heading across country to Pennsylvania with his father.
A preliminary hearing in Latah District Court is scheduled for June to decide whether the case will go to trial.
The University of Idaho plans to posthumously honor the murdered students at this week’s graduation ceremonies.