A former roommate of the slain University of Idaho students, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, broke her silence after 18 months since the bloodshed and revealed the final message she sent to her late friend. Ashlin Couch texted Madison Mogen immediately after receiving an alert from her alma mater about a homicide on the same road as their old college house. Couch lived in the house with Mogen and Goncalves until she graduated and moved out in May 2022, relinquishing her lease to Xana Kernodle. The three girls and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were all slaughtered in their upstairs bedrooms after a night on the town.
Mogen and Goncalves, who were described as being like sisters to Couch, were in the same bed when they were stabbed to death by alleged killer Bryan Kohberger. Kernodle and Chapin were killed in the bedroom across the hall, where Couch had lived just six months earlier. The realization that the murders occurred in the house she used to live in induced panic in Couch. The uncertainty of whether or not the killer could have been watching their house while she was still living there haunted Couch.
Couch’s grief has inspired her to start the Made with Kindness Foundation in honor of her late friends. The foundation focuses on raising awareness and educating students on social media safety, with the understanding that one cannot control the actions of others. Despite her efforts to honor her friends’ memories through her foundation work, Couch continues to feel the void left in her heart by their absence. She wishes she could have had the opportunity to say goodbye to Mogen one last time.
The victims’ family claimed that the Moscow home where the tragic killings took place was demolished by the university, a decision that they believed eliminated the potential hope of finding additional forensic evidence. Bryan Kohberger, the alleged killer, has maintained his innocence through his lawyers, claiming he was nowhere near the college house during the murders but was instead driving alone 40 minutes away. He faces four counts of murder and one count of burglary and is due back in court for a hearing that has been ordered to be behind closed doors.
The horrifying events have had a lasting impact on Couch, who struggled with fear and anxiety in the aftermath of her friends’ deaths. The trauma of losing her friends in such a violent and senseless way has left a lasting impression on her life. Despite the challenges she has faced, Couch remains dedicated to honoring the memory of Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle, and Chapin through her foundation work. The loss of her friends has left a void in her life that she continues to grapple with as she strives to bring awareness to the importance of social media safety for students.
