The November 2022 murder of four University of Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin – was one of the biggest true crime stories of the past decade and one that has spawned countless documentaries. When I first learned that Prime Video’s One Night in Idaho: The College Murders was coming to the 2025 TV schedule, I honestly thought it was going to be a cold, standard true crime docuseries about the investigation.
However, I would soon discover by watching with my Amazon subscription that instead of being another “by the numbers” documentary about Bryan Kohberger, who later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and burglary, and the crimes he committed, this emotional four-part series was something more. It was personal, it was emotional, and in addition to giving us a better picture of the impact the crimes had on the friends and family of the victims, it was a tribute to the lives of those four college students and what they left behind.
While The Docuseries Doesn't Feature The Investigators, It Does Emphasize the Impact The Crimes Had On The Friends And Family
There’s a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode of One Night in Idaho: The College Murders stating that due to a gag order, no one involved in the case in an official capacity was allowed to speak about the heinous murder and subsequent investigation. So, instead of the hearing detectives explaining how they discovered the crime scene or eventually connected the dots to Bryan Kohberger, the docuseries emphasizes the impact the crimes had on the victims’ friends and family.
Off the bat, this creates something that is far more personal, gentle, and raw, as these friends, family members, and community members recount not just the final night of the victims’ lives, but but also how they’ve coped with it in the years that have followed.
The Docuseries Also Treats The Four Students As More Than Just Victims Of A Heinous Crime
Similar to the tremendous 2020 documentary series, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, which was also directed by acclaimed documentarian Liz Garbus (she shares a credit with Matthew Galkin), One Night in Idaho: The College Murders treats Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin as more than just victims of a heinous crime. Instead of having their stories be solely about their final days, the four-part docuseries tell us a bit about each of their lives.
By focusing less on the crime (which is still a major part, by the way) or the perpetrator, Garbus and Galkin create a tribute to those lives lost that November 2022 night and help the viewer better understand what was really lost here.
I'm Going To Be Honest, This True Crime Show Broke Me Multiple Times
There were so many heartbreaking moments throughout the docuseries, but two in particular impacted me in a way that I don’t think I’ll soon forget. In the first episode, there’s an interview with Ethan Chapin’s mother, Stacy, where she recounts a trip to the University of Idaho for parents’ weekend. After meeting Ethan’s girlfriend and fellow victim, Xana Kernodle, she said she and her husband felt like they had done right as parents, not knowing what would happen just days later.
But that paled in comparison to a moment near the end of the documentary where Jim Chapin talks about his decision to bring his son’s ashes home after his memorial service. After experiencing something no parent wants to go through, this father just wanted to keep his son nearby, and that broke my heart into a million pieces. As a parent, I just can’t imagine going through that.
Watching One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, an experience I would say is similar to the gut-wrenching Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, created one of the saddest experiences on Amazon Prime, but also one that I think is a humanizing and emotional exploration of lives cut way too short.
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