'One big teddy bear': Ethan Chapin's fraternity brother recalls 'most kind-hearted, humble' friend
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently
MOSCOW, IDAHO: University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were stabbed to death on November 13 in their off-campus rental home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, a doctoral student in criminal justice and criminology at the neighboring Washington State University, was arrested and charged with the brutal murders. The friends and family remembered the victims as they spoke about them in an interview with ABC News. Peter, a fraternity brother of Ethan Chapin, recalled the slain student as the "most kind-hearted and humble individual."
Kohberger was arrested on December 30 at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania, more than 2,500 miles from Moscow, and is now facing charges of four counts of murder and burglary. Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing when he appeared in court on Thursday, January 12. The probable cause affidavit, released on January 5, revealed several key details linking Kohberger to the case, such as phone records indicating that he was in the area of the murders at least 12 times prior to the murders and that the suspect left a knife sheath with his DNA at the scene. In addition, the man accused of the murders was "seen" by one of the survivors, Dylan Mortensen.
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Remembering Chapin, who was a member of the campus' Sigma Chi fraternity chapter, Peter, a fraternity brother, told ABC News, "My first impression of Ethan was he is just this huge dude that you wouldn't really approach, but as soon as you really got to know him, you realize that he's like one big Teddy Bear." Peter further mentioned Chapin's love for country music saying, "Our mutual love for country music is really what brought us together. We'd gravitate toward each other because we'd be singing these country songs. We really got along."
Peter recalled Chapin as the "most kind-hearted, humble individual that I have ever met," as reported by ABC News. Peter added, "You can be around people that are always negative... Ethan is the opposite of that. If you're in a bad mood, you wanted to find Ethan just to cheer yourself up a little bit."
Chapin's former basketball coach Tyler Amaya also remembered the victim and called the tragedy "the worst news you ever could have imagined." "[Ethan] was one of those humans that when he looked you in his eyes, you could see his heart," said Amaya.
Chapin was dating one of the victims, Kernodle. Police allege that the victims were stabbed to death between 4 am and 4.25 am, while two other roommates survived the attack.