Idaho Four: Four Lives Before the Night at King Road

Kaylee: Ready for Life After College

Kaylee Goncalves grew up in Rathdrum, Idaho. At 21, she was in her senior year at the University of Idaho, studying general studies in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She belonged to Alpha Phi. Friends and family remembered someone who spoke her mind, cared about people and was excited to see more of the world.

Kaylee was preparing to leave Moscow behind. Her parents said she expected to finish college early and had a job waiting with a technology company in Austin, Texas. She had bought a new vehicle and was making plans for the future. Her next chapter was supposed to begin soon.

One of the people Kaylee most wanted to share those plans with was Madison Mogen, whom nearly everyone called Maddie. They had known each other since sixth grade. They grew up near one another in northern Idaho, went through school together and eventually shared a college house. Kaylee’s parents said she had recently moved out of that house, at 1122 King Road, but returned to Moscow for the November weekend to visit Maddie and show her the new car.

That return visit explains why Kaylee was at King Road even though she was preparing to move on. She was not meeting someone new. She was coming back to a familiar place and a friend who had been part of her life for years.

Maddie: Marketing, Friendship and a Home in Moscow

Madison Mogen was from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Like Kaylee, she was 21 and a senior. Maddie’s major was marketing in the university’s College of Business and Economics. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi, and she had built a life in Moscow through classes, friends and work.

Maddie worked at the Mad Greek restaurant near campus. People who knew her said she was gaining experience with the restaurant’s social media, something that fit her marketing studies. She was working toward a degree while doing an ordinary job and spending time with the friends who filled her days.

Maddie lived in the King Road house with other students, including Xana Kernodle. Kaylee had been her roommate before moving out. The two friends stayed close, and family members described a friendship that went far beyond a college arrangement.

By Saturday, November 12, Kaylee was back in town. For Maddie, that meant another chance to spend time with her oldest friend. It did not mean every person who would later be in the house had spent the entire evening together.

Xana: School, Work and Her Own Circle of Friends

Xana Kernodle grew up in Post Falls, Idaho. She was 20 and a junior majoring in marketing in the College of Business and Economics. Like Maddie, she belonged to Pi Beta Phi. She was studying a similar subject, belonged to the same sorority and worked at the same restaurant.

At Mad Greek, Xana was part of the staff alongside Maddie. Friends and coworkers remembered her energy, sense of humor and willingness to make people feel welcome. She also had classes to attend and a life that extended beyond the restaurant and the house.

Xana lived at 1122 King Road with Maddie and other roommates. She was dating Ethan Chapin, another University of Idaho student. Their relationship meant Ethan spent time at the house, although he did not live there.

Xana’s path to King Road was different from Kaylee’s. Xana was a resident, building a routine around the university, work and roommates. She and Ethan had plans of their own that Saturday evening.

Ethan: A Freshman, a Triplet and Xana’s Boyfriend

Ethan Chapin was from Mount Vernon, Washington. He was 20 and one of triplets. His brother Hunter and sister Maizie also attended the University of Idaho. Family interviews described how closely the siblings grew up and how much Ethan enjoyed making people laugh.

Ethan was a freshman majoring in recreation, sport and tourism management in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. At a school where his siblings were also students, he was just beginning his own college experience.

By November 2022, Ethan was dating Xana. He knew King Road because she lived there, but he was a visitor, not a tenant. Moscow police later corrected early reports that called him a resident.

On November 12, Ethan went to a sorority formal with his sister Maizie, according to her later interview with ABC News. He later spent time with Xana at the Sigma Chi house. That is where police placed the couple during part of their last evening.

Dylan and Bethany: The Two Other Roommates

Two more University of Idaho students belonged to the King Road household: Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke. They were not visiting for the night. Both were residents. Reporting based on property-management records listed them among the tenants of the six-bedroom rental. Their presence was part of the home’s ordinary college life well before November 13.

The group was connected through the university and its close circle of friends. Bethany belonged to Pi Beta Phi, the same sorority as Maddie and Xana. At a memorial, a letter from Bethany described Maddie as her sorority “big sister,” a relationship that meant mentorship and friendship. Dylan also appeared in photographs with other students from that social circle. The public record does not establish precisely who first invited each person to join the lease, so that detail should not be invented.

The two women shared meals, time with friends and the routines of a busy student house. Their later interviews described a group familiar with one another, not a set of strangers sharing rooms. Dylan and Bethany were at King Road on the final weekend and both survived. They were witnesses and people who lost friends. They were not accused of involvement in the killings, and their private lives do not need to become a separate investigation in this opening story.

Where the Four Stories Meet: 1122 King Road

These four separate stories came together through ordinary college relationships. Kaylee and Maddie had been best friends since childhood and had lived together. Maddie and Xana were roommates, sorority sisters and coworkers. Xana and Ethan were dating. Each relationship explains one more connection to the same home.

The three-story, six-bedroom rental stood near the university campus in Moscow. Maddie and Xana lived there with Dylan and Bethany among the other housemates. Kaylee had recently moved out and returned for the weekend. Ethan was visiting Xana. The six people present that night did not all have the same relationship to the house: some lived there, one had returned to see her best friend, and one was visiting his girlfriend. Dylan and Bethany survived.

Calling all four students roommates would miss what mattered. Maddie and Xana were residents. Kaylee was back visiting her best friend, according to her parents. Ethan was spending the night with his girlfriend. Their paths had converged at a familiar college house before anyone knew what would happen there.