The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy

In The Idaho Four communities and individuals work to reorient themselves and resist isolation in the aftermath of the violence. The victims’ lives were defined by tight-knit friend groups, close family bonds, and the comfortable familiarity of a small-town campus. Their deeply social lives contrast with the isolation of their eventual murderer, who struggles to fit in with his hometown and later finds himself ostracized in his academic program. His violence spreads his isolation outward, destabilizing the sense of safety and community that defined Moscow and leaving survivors struggling with a sense of psychological isolation as they find themselves unable to trust their neighbors:

The fact that everyone in Moscow knows everyone else has morphed overnight from a sense of comfort to something deeply unsettling. Neighbor suddenly mistrusts neighbor. Friend mistrusts friend. Customer mistrusts vendor. People are shutting themselves in. Hiding from one another (191).

Over the course of the novel, survivors combat this isolation by finding ways to rebuild community around the memory of their lost loved ones.

Bryan Kohberger’s life is defined by exclusion. Though he tries to present himself as polite, professional, and “normal,” the cracks quickly become evident. By the time he enters a PhD program in criminal justice, a lifetime of isolation has already left him angry, misogynistic, and latently violent. Classmates document his threatening behavior, and professors note his inappropriate interactions and his discrimination against female undergraduates. In his mind, his eventual firing from his graduate program reinforces his inability to belong. This isolation extends to his family after the murders: They find themselves socially exiled, their privacy shattered. Kohberger embodies the emotional harm that comes from extreme isolation.

Stacy Chapin is Kohberger’s antithesis: At every turn, she chooses belonging. She roots her grief in community-building and memory. Throughout the book, Stacy is seen extending ‘belonging’ to others—the Moscow police officers upon their first meeting, for example, and the Sigma Chi brothers. Each gesture pulls her family and others into a shared circle of memory and purpose. She establishes a charitable foundation in Ethan’s memory, determined to ensure that he is remembered for his life rather than his death. Fundraisers for the foundation double as opportunities for community building, and the foundation’s name, “Ethan’s Smile,” symbolizes his ongoing presence as a force for good in the world.

Steve Goncalves initially experiences isolation more sharply than Stacy does. His drive to investigate on his own and his mistrust of institutions keep him at the margins, often alienated even from allies. Grief that cannot find resolution, in this case, turns to suspicion and anger. In this way, he represents the metastasis of Kohberger’s isolation: In acting out his isolation through violence, Kohberger isolates others. Even so, Goncalves’s activism on behalf of his daughter gives him a sense of purpose and unites him in community with many of the online “sleuths” who are convinced that the case is being mishandled. Though this community sometimes blunders into harm, their steady pressure ensures that investigators and prosecutors do not give up.

The broader community also undergoes a shift from a sense of belonging to one of isolation. Before the murders, Moscow residents prided themselves on the safety and intimacy of their community. People rarely locked doors, students felt comfortable walking home at night, and neighbors were trusting. After the murders, that belonging shattered into fear. Students pushed furniture against their doors, townspeople armed themselves, and rumors bred suspicion among social networks. Community belonging gave way to guarded self-preservation and mistrust.

Ultimately, the theme of isolation and belonging illuminates the human stakes of violence. In the wake of Kohberger’s violent act, families must decide whether grief will connect or isolate them, and communities must rebuild trust in the wake of fear.