When I first saw a new documentary, The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, was trending on Netflix, I didn’t immediately hit play. I was hesitant to watch another true crime docuseries about the horrendous murders. Partly because the crime was so heinous, but also because there have been a lot of documentaries and podcasts about the quadruple murder, and I questioned whether I could learn something new, or if it would be another rehash of the crime.
I ended up watching, and not only was there a lot of new information in this new docuseries on the 2026 TV schedule, but there was also one interview in particular that was absolutely devastating. The candid discussion with one of the victim’s father, Jeff Kernodle (Dad to Xana Kernodle), was heartbreaking.
Grief Takes You To Some Low Places
One of the interesting things about this new documentary is how many interviews there are with close friends and family members of the four victims. More than I remember from past documentaries. All the interviews will tug at your heartstrings, but for me, hearing Jeff Kernodle tell his story was especially hard. At one point, he mentions that he considered staying at the house with Xana and her roommates after drinking a little too much at the football game earlier in the day.
He decided against it and drove home instead. You can see in his eyes and feel that in his heart, he thinks that had he made the decision to stay at the house, maybe things would’ve been different. Maybe he could have stopped the murderer in his tracks. It would be hard enough to lose a young daughter under such tragic and brutal circumstances, but to almost blame yourself would make it intolerable. It’s probably a natural reaction, of course. A parent always wants to protect their children, so lamenting that one decision in the past that could have changed everything must be absolutely crushing.
I feel so much for Kernodle and the rest of the victims' friends and families, and I hope that if they haven’t found peace, they do, because they deserve it more than anyone.
There Is Much More That Makes It Worth A Watch
Not only are there the candid interviews with friends and family in The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, but there is a lot of discussion with the law enforcement officers who investigated it, and a lot of new footage from body-worn cameras and other cameras that I’d never seen before. It finally paints a complete picture of what happened on that terrifying night in Moscow, Idaho that most of us have never seen before.
I know that many have followed this case a lot more closely than I have over the years, so I’m hardly an expert on the crime. Seeing the events unfold as they did in 2022 is eye-opening and honestly a little cathartic, even for me. I hope it is for those close to the four slain students as well.
