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University Of Idaho Murder Victim's Family Starts Scholarship In Her Honor
“At the very least, we hope to create some good out of such a terrible and heartbreaking situation,” Xana Kernodle's cousin said when announcing the scholarship for University of Idaho students Thursday.
The family of University of Idaho victim Xana Kernodle is starting a scholarship in her honor just over a month after the 20-year-old was killed along with her boyfriend and two friends in an off-campus rental home.
Kernodle’s cousin, Sheldon Kernodle, announced the memorial scholarship on social media Thursday.
“We’ve started a memorial endowment in Xana’s name to honor her memory and keep her legacy alive,” Sheldon said. “The Xana Kernodle Scholarship Endowment is a permanent endowment, created in partnership with the University of Idaho Foundation, that will support and fund scholarships year after year for University of Idaho students.”
He added that the Kernodle family plans to match donations “dollar-for-dollar” up to $10,000.
“We’re asking anyone who is willing and able to donate any amount they are comfortable with,” he said. “Please know that no donation is too small.”
He went on to thank those who chose to contribute to the fund “from the bottom of our hearts.”
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“At the very least, we hope to create some good out of such a terrible and heartbreaking situation,” she said.
Xana was fatally stabbed to death in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, along with her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, and her roommates Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. Police believe all four victims were “likely asleep” when an unknown intruder slipped into the off-campus rental home and stabbed each victim “multiple times.”
Xana, Mogen and Goncalves lived at the home — along with two roommates who lived on the home’s bottom floor and were not harmed in the attack — while Chapin lived at a nearby fraternity and had been staying over the night of the murders.
Xana was a junior in marketing at the time of her death.
She was described by her sister Jazzmin Kernodle, who spoke to The Associated Press, as someone who always lifted up those around her.
“You rarely get to meet someone like Xana,” she told the outlet last month. “She was so positive, funny and was loved by everyone who met her.”
More than a month after the slaying, Idaho investigators have yet to make an arrest in the shocking slayings.
On Thursday, Moscow Police said in an update on the investigation that they were still hoping to track down the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra seen near the King Road home around the time of the murders and were in the process of sorting through 22,000 registered vehicles matching that criteria.
“Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case,” police said.
Authorities are also poring through video footage gathered from the public and local businesses in an attempt to identify the vehicle or other clues.
Anyone with information about the case, is urged to contact a tip line at 208-883-7180 or tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.
