TV
Amazon Prime Video has dropped a docuseries about the quadruple homicide that gripped the nation in 2022. The release date is just days after Bryan Kohberger changed his plea.
In the early morning hours of a chilly November morning in Moscow, Idaho, a criminology student from across the country entered an off-campus house and systematically killed four people. The scene, gruesome and horrific, made no sense to the sleepy college town or the rest of the nation. Interest in the case grew quickly. Online sleuths stepped in to try and “solve” the mystery of who would want four college students dead. While online sleuths didn’t crack the case, interest in the case has never wavered, even nearly three years later. Now, Amazon Prime has released a docuseries all about the evening Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Karnoodle, and Ethan Chapin were senselessly murdered. The release of the docuseries comes just days after Bryan Kohberger, the perpetrator, made the shocking decision to change his plea.
Amazon releases a docuseries about the Moscow murders
Amazon Prime Studios has been hard at work developing its original content. Some of that original content falls into the true crime category. Its most recent true crime release, One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, examines a disturbing quadruple homicide that defied all logic and changed Moscow, Idaho, forever.
The docuseries explores the timeline of events that led up to the murders and the community’s response to the unthinkable. The series also delves into how Bryan Kohberger, a criminology PhD student originally from Pennsylvania, became a person of interest and was eventually apprehended. Through exclusive interviews, archival footage, and expert commentary, the series attempts to piece together the evening and all that happened afterward.
Additional content that further explores the murders will be released ahead of Kohberger’s sentencing. The Idaho Murders, a book by James Patterson and Vicky Ward, will be released on July 14. Howard Blum’s non-fiction offering on the subject, When the Night Comes Falling, was released on June 25.
Bryan Kohberger changed his plea just days before the docuseries dropped
The release of the docuseries comes just one week after Bryan Kohberger made a shocking decision to accept a plea deal. According to The Wall Street Journal, the former criminology student admitted guilt in the murders of all four University of Idaho students. The plea was entered on July 2. He formally pleaded guilty to four counts of first‑degree murder. He also entered a guilty plea for felony burglary. The agreement spares him the death penalty but ensures he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars. Kohberger initially entered a plea of not guilty to all charges and maintained his innocence.
Kohberger’s plea deal was agreed to just weeks before the trial was set to begin. Jury selection was scheduled for August 4, while opening statements were expected around August 18. Kohberger will be formally sentenced to life in prison on July 23. Some of the victims’ families are relieved at the outcome. Still, not everyone is happy. At least one family has expressed anger over the state sparing Kohberger’s life.
It is unclear what prompted Kohberger to alter his plea. Overwhelming evidence against him and further media attention may have been motivating factors.
