Nancy Grace blasted for setting up studio outside Idaho murder house to use crime scene as show's 'backdrop'
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MOSCOW, IDAHO: TV journalist Nancy Grace faced quite the backlash after she set up a temporary office just outside the home where four University of Idaho students were murdered. She arrived at the scene to provide on-ground updates in real-time. However, some of her comments drew the ire of critics online.
More than a month after the horrifying brutal slayings, suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger was identified and taken into custody. The 28-year-old PhD candidate in criminology at Washington State University is suspected of killing Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen at their rented off-campus accommodation in the early hours of November 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested at his family home in Pennsylvania on December 30.
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Grace, 63, who has been following the case closely, arrived at the 1122 King Road residence to get a feel of the crime scene and provide updates to her followers. "Here in Idaho in front of murder scene. W @foxnation producer Kelly. It’s all much different than the photos show," she tweeted on Wednesday, January 11, attaching a photo of her temporary broadcasting setup.
Here in Idaho in front of murder scene. W @foxnation producer Kelly. It’s all much different than the photos show. #CrimeStories #idahohomicides #MoscowHomicides #MoscowMurders #IdahoMurders #BryanKohlberger pic.twitter.com/rS9TBkQ4Tn
— Nancy Grace (@NancyGrace) January 11, 2023
In the next couple of tweets, the veteran reporter appeared to insist multiple times that "these girls never had a chance." Later, in a tweet, she said, "Predator can get so close to their windows. These girls never had a chance," and shared various points of view from the scene.
Predator can get so close to their windows. These girls never had a chance. #IdahoStudents #Idaho4 #IdahoFour #MoscowMurders #IdahoMurders pic.twitter.com/15TUr3Nruh
— Nancy Grace (@NancyGrace) January 11, 2023
"My view directly into the Idaho crime scene from the parking lot behind the house. These 4 never had a chance," another tweet read.
My view directly into the Idaho crime scene from parking lot behind house. These 4 never had a chance. #Idaho4 #Moscow4 #MoscowMurders #IdahoMurders #IdahoFour pic.twitter.com/gxKPe4r8eE
— Nancy Grace (@NancyGrace) January 11, 2023
Grace was slammed online for setting up her portable studio outside the home. "She has a table set up in the road in front of the house! Like a portable studio with bright lights and everything. She is insufferable. I hope the neighbors throw rotten fruit at her," one fumed on Reddit.
"I JUST saw that photo and thought how disgusting that is. Like using these poor kids' home as a fucking backdrop to her show," another wrote. "The fact she set up a 'studio' in front of the house as if this is an NFL pregame show is so wrong. How disgusting," another comment read.
Some blasted her for her views about the crime scene and the tragic murders as well. "Idk who she is but the whole 'they never had a chance' thing rubbed me the wrong way. Major ick," one offered. "Nancy Grace makes a comment about a predator with zero self-awareness. Yep, there's a predator filming right now, Nancy," someone else added.
That said, the outrage over Grace's arrival at the crime scene is a far cry from the response News Nation journalist Brian Entin garnered when he visited the home in November. MEAWW previously reported how sleuths online were thrilled after Entin — a lesser-known journalist who shot to prominence after breaking the Gabby Petito story — announced that he was heading to Idaho to cover the grisly story. "Heading to Idaho on Sunday to cover the college students murdered for @NewsNation," the journalist tweeted on November 25. The announcement was received with widespread applause, especially from those who were familiar with Entin's coverage of the Petito-Laundrie case in 2021.
Gabby Petito, 22, a travel vlogger, was found strangled to death in September 2021 in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Her fiance Brian Laundrie, 23, admitted to killing her in August of the same year and called it a "merciful murder" in a journal found alongside his skeletal remains in the Carlton Reserve in North Port on October 20, 2021.