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University of Idaho Murder Victims' Ex-Roommate Reveals Final Text: "Knew Something Was Wrong"
Ashlin Couch, who moved out of the home months before the murders there, added she was afraid to walk to her car after her friends died.
A former roommate of the University of Idaho murder victims is speaking out about the moment she learned a crime took place at the house she once lived in.
Ashlin Couch told local news outlet KXLY.com that she first knew something was wrong when she received a notification about a suspected homicide by the University of Idaho campus.
"I texted our group of friends and I said, ‘Has anyone heard from Maddie?’” Couch said. “I remember my last text message to her was: ‘Are you OK?’ I feel like right then and there, I kind of just knew that something was wrong.”
Ex-Roommate Reacts to University of Idaho Murders
Couch would later learn that her friends Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were stabbed to death in the Moscow, Idaho home, alongside Xana Kernodle, 20; and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Two other individuals were also in the house at the time of the murder but survived.
This came as a complete shock to Couch, who lived there with several of the victims starting in 2020 but had moved out of the King Road home, which has since been demolished, in May 2022. And as news came out about suspected stalking incidents, Couch grew fearful for her safety.
“It crosses my mind more that that could’ve happened while I was there,” Couch said. “And, you know, you never know, like how long someone is watching your house.”
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She noted that it impacted her own movements, sharing, "I couldn’t even walk to my car in the dark for months after it happened."
Ashlin Couch's New Foundation
Since then, she's been inspired to start her own foundation in honor of the victims. The Made With Kindness Foundation seeks to educate students about social media and safety.
"I want to do more. I want to spread some kind of message and start something, help people. Just do something more with this life that we are grateful to still be living," Couch said.
Her biggest priority is helping others feel safer in the community. And while she knows there was nothing she or the victims could've done to avoid this attack, Couch said, "If we can help [students] feel a little bit safer after knowing that something like this happened, I think it's helpful."
Where is Bryan Kohberger now?
Bryan Kohberger, a former graduate student at Washington State University, was later arrested and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder. He has been held in Latah County Jail without bail since December 30.
Authorities arrested him after DNA tests linked him to a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
In April, Kohberger's attorneys stated in court filings that cell phone data will prove their client's innocence, writing that Kohberger is an avid outdoorsman and was stargazing the night of the crime, Oxygen.com previously reported.
"Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars,” the filing continued. “He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho, including Wawawai Park.”
A trial is currently scheduled for October.
