Reddit Hunts a Mass Murderer Before He Kills Again

Summary

In November 2022, four University of Idaho students—Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves—were murdered in a house near campus. Early police statements caused confusion: officials initially said there was no ongoing threat, then acknowledged that the killer was still at large and that they had no suspect. The limited information and lack of visible updates intensified fear and speculation.

Online communities, especially on Reddit and TikTok, began trying to identify the killer. Users accused the surviving roommates, Kaylee’s former boyfriend, a man seen near the victims at a food truck, an Uber driver, a local bartender, a neighbor, a bakery owner, and a university professor. Police publicly cleared several people, but the accusations persisted. Some targets and their families faced doxxing, threats, repeated calls, and media harassment. A TikTok tarot reader’s unsupported allegations against a professor drew millions of views and ultimately led to a defamation case in which the reader was found liable.

The video contrasts this online frenzy with a police investigation conducted largely without public updates. Investigators followed forensic and surveillance leads, including DNA found on a knife sheath, video of a white Hyundai Elantra near the scene, and phone records. After tracing the DNA through relatives and collecting further evidence, authorities arrested a suspect in Pennsylvania on December 30, 2022. A later affidavit detailed the investigation, showing that police had been pursuing leads while public speculation focused on people with no substantiated connection to the murders.

The suspect eventually pleaded guilty in July 2025 under a deal that spared him the death penalty in exchange for four consecutive life sentences without parole. The victims’ families expressed anger at the agreement and its timing. One surviving roommate described the lasting trauma of the crime and the public accusations; the other said online rumors and media attention compounded her grief and guilt.

The video’s central argument is that public uncertainty and poor communication helped create an information vacuum, but internet sleuthing filled it with speculation rather than reliable evidence. Platforms rewarded sensational claims, and treating a real tragedy as a puzzle caused serious harm to innocent people. The video contrasts the Idaho case with an earlier online investigation that relied on a small, methodical group and evidence. It argues that crowdsourced efforts are most useful when they are careful and evidence-based—not when they become an unaccountable mob.

Presenters and Contributors

• Presenter: Brew narrator, not identified by name in the subtitles.
• Named contributors and people quoted or featured: Moscow Police Chief James Fry; Moscow Mayor Art Bettge; Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt; Reverend Donna Saraphina Lambert; Ashley Gillard; University of Idaho professor Zachary Turpin; Ethan Chapin’s father, Jim Chapin; Kaylee Goncalves’s family members; and surviving roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke.
• The video also includes comments from other relatives, students, online creators, police representatives, and community members who are not identified by name in the subtitles.