Just before news broke that Bryan Kohberger intends to plead guilty in the University of Idaho quadruple murder case, the family of Ethan Chapin—one of the victims—spoke publicly for the first time.
Ethan Chapin, 20, was one of three siblings in a set of triplets. All attended the University of Idaho. On the night of November 12, 2022, he went to a sorority formal with his sister Maizie. Later, he texted her, encouraging her to hang out again: “Dawg, come hang out. We all want you here.” She declined, saying she was heading to bed. Ethan followed up with a rare “Love you” text. She didn’t see it until the next morning.
By then, Ethan and three others—his girlfriend Xana Kernodle, and her roommates Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves—had been brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus house. Two other roommates survived.
Days before Kohberger’s plea deal was revealed, Ethan’s siblings, Maizie and Hunter, shared their experience with ABC News and in the upcoming documentary One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, premiering July 11 on Amazon Prime Video.
“They’re Not Here Anymore”
The Chapin family had just celebrated Parents Weekend at the university the week before the murders. “We left feeling like we’d done it,” recalled their mother, Stacy Chapin. “They were happy, independent, thriving.”
Then came the morning of November 13.
Hunter, Ethan’s brother, was awakened at his fraternity by a friend who said police were outside the house where Xana lived. Assuming it was a routine incident, Hunter casually walked over.
“I wasn’t worried,” he said. “Ethan was 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. I thought maybe someone just needed help.”
But then a friend who had gone inside the house came out with chilling news.
“I asked, ‘Where’s Ethan and Xana?’ and he said, ‘They’re not here anymore.’”
Hunter said he immediately called Maizie and then his mother.
Maizie arrived at the scene to find their friend group huddled in shock. Ambulances had already come and gone—without taking any patients.
Stacy, who was at the grocery store, answered Hunter’s call.
“He just said, ‘He’s not here,’ over and over,” she said. “I told him, ‘Then go get him,’ but then he said, ‘No, Mom… Ethan and Xana are not on this earth anymore.’”
A Family’s Pain and Resolve
Stacy and her husband Jim rushed from Washington to Idaho to be with their surviving children. The drive was long, and the grief, overwhelming.
“I always wanted to protect my family,” Jim said. “And there was nothing I could’ve done.”
Within hours, Stacy resolved to keep her family strong.
“I told them, ‘Whatever just happened to us, it will not sink us. We will carry on,’” she said through tears. “It will be different—but we’ll keep going.”
The Arrest and Plea Deal
Nearly seven weeks after the killings, Bryan Kohberger—a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University—was arrested in Pennsylvania. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
Kohberger’s trial was originally set for August, but on Monday, prosecutors informed families he had agreed to plead guilty to all charges. He will receive four consecutive life sentences and 10 years for the burglary, with no right to appeal. Sentencing is expected later in July.
Remembering Ethan
As the family prepares for the next phase of this long ordeal, they’re holding on to the 20 years they had with Ethan.
“I miss him every day,” said Jim. “But I have no regrets. He lived life to the fullest.”
Stacy agreed. “We can’t name one thing we’d change. Ethan brought us joy every single day. He was the kindest, funniest, most loving kid—and we were lucky to have him, even if it was just for 20 years.”
