Murdered Idaho students honored as campus hopes to 'bring back the light' nearly two years later

On a bright Wednesday afternoon, students and staff at the University of Idaho unveiled a new garden memorial to commemorate the four students killed on November 13, 2022, and others the school has lost since then.

The Vandal Healing Garden, created by students in the University of Idaho's College of Art and Architecture, opened this week, two days after fall classes officially began.

“It was so well done, and it was a day where we wanted to recognize the time and effort of the kids who built it,” Stacy Chapin, whose son Ethan Chapin was among the four students murdered in Idaho in 2022, told Fox News Digital.

One side of the memorial is dedicated to Ethan, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, while the other side is a place where all University of Idaho families who have suffered a loss can remember their loved ones, Chapin explained.

Trial of Bryan Kohberger in Idaho murder case begins in June 2025

The University of Idaho unveiled a new garden memorial on Wednesday to commemorate the four students killed in November 2022 and all university students who have died since then. (University of Idaho)

Stacy Chapin said she has felt “incredible” support from her son's fraternity brothers, her daughter's sisters, the university and the entire community.

“It was an incredible day.”

— Stacy Chapin

Part of the side of the memorial that will be displayed in November 2022 includes a structure that reflects the favorite colors of all four students, Chapin explained.

The University of Idaho unveiled a new community-dedicated memorial on Wednesday. (University of Idaho)

Ethan's friend and fraternity brother Drew Giacomazzi was one of the students who helped erect the memorial.

Giacomazzi told Fox News Digital the garden was an 18-month project funded entirely by the community and involved many meetings between students, school staff and design experts. He said he was “speechless” when he saw the final result this week.

In his speech Wednesday, he said the university felt “dark, cold and distant” after the killings and “the intent of the Healing Garden is to create a unique place that unites the students, alumni and Moscow community of the University of Idaho.”

“Do more of what you love to honor Kaylee. Spread that love with spontaneous acts of kindness to honor Maddie. Be silly and do something spontaneous and fun to honor Xana. And tell stories with lots of laughter to honor Ethan,” Giacomazzi said in his speech.

The University of Idaho recently unveiled a new community-designated monument. (University of Idaho)

The University of Idaho said in a statement posted on Facebook that the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial was “designed, vetted and built” by students with guidance from faculty and alumni. The memorial is “a testament to the inspiring response of our community and a symbol” of the university's strength as a community, the statement said.

The school added that the garden was “a place to come together in moments of grief and reflection and to honor the Vandal students” the school had lost.

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November 13 marks the two-year anniversary of the murder of 20-year-olds Kernodle and Chapin and 21-year-olds Goncalves and Mogen in the middle of the night in a rented dorm just feet from campus.

Ethan Chapin's name is featured on the monument at the Vandal Healing Garden at the University of Idaho. (University of Idaho)

Xana Kernodle's name is featured on the monument at the Vandal Healing Garden at the University of Idaho. (University of Idaho)

Kaylee Goncalves' name is featured on the monument at the University of Idaho's Vandal Healing Garden. (University of Idaho)

Madison May Mogen's name is featured on the monument at the Vandal Healing Garden at the University of Idaho. (University of Idaho)

Giacomazzi said he knew all four victims, but was closest to Ethan, the kind of person who could light up a room with his laughter and make others feel “welcome.” He was at the airport visiting his sister in New York when he heard of Ethan's death, and he remembered being in a state of shock when he found out what had happened.

“It was a really scary moment. When we came back, it was surreal to see news cameras there and we just didn't know what to do. Our fraternity didn't know what to do. I think the university was just stunned and didn't know what to do. It was a strange time in Moscow,” Giacomazzi recalled.

“This healing garden is just one area to bring that light back to campus.”

— Drew Giacomazzi

The memorial will help students “move through those emotions” of grief “and feel safe doing so,” Giacomazzi added. “Of course, there have been buildings and spaces on campus like this before, but nothing has been specifically designed and dedicated to these kinds of emotions, and this healing garden is just one area that brings that light back to campus.”

University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen died on November 13, 2022. (University of Idaho)

University of Idaho President Scott Green said in his address Wednesday that the tragedy provided the “impetus” for the garden memorial.

“We have lost four shining lights full of life and promise. This garden memorial is dedicated to them and the University of Idaho,” Green said. “It is a reminder that even in times of sorrow and darkness, we can always find light.”

Suspect Bryan Kohberger, a 29-year-old criminology graduate student at the neighboring University of Washington in Pullman, is suspected of stabbing the four students in their rooms in the early hours of that Sunday morning. He has pleaded not guilty and is expected to stand trial next year.

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Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend Kaylee Goncalves as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other roommates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared a day before the stabbing of the four students. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

Kohberger is demanding that his trial be moved from Latah County, the close-knit university community where the murders took place.

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“Due to the extensive, inflammatory pre-trial coverage, the allegations made by the media against Mr. Kohberger that are inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the offensive nature of the alleged crimes, and the seriousness of the charges against Mr. Kohberger, a fair and impartial jury cannot be impaneled in Latah County,” Anne Taylor, Kohberger's lead defense attorney, wrote in a February court document.

The defendant's efforts to change the place of trial continue.

Michael Ruiz of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.