x
Breaking News
More () »

Remembering Idaho murder victims: Who was Madison Mogen?

Mogen, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was a marketing major, a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and worked at Mad Greek restaurant.

MOSCOW, Idaho —
Madison Mogen was a 21-year-old senior when she was killed in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022. 

"She was the world to us," her father Ben Mogen said at a December memorial service for all four students. 

Mogen, who went by Maddie, was one of four University of Idaho students who were killed a short time before Thanksgiving. Ethan Chapin, 20, from Conway, Wash., Xana Kernodle, 20, from Post Falls and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, from Rathdrum.

WSU grad student Bryan Kohberger has been charged in their deaths after police found a knife sheath with DNA on it. 

Mogen, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was a marketing major, a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and worked at Mad Greek restaurant with Kernodle.  

In an obituary published on the Coeur d'Alene Press, her family wrote this about Mogen: 

"To say Maddie is loved by all is an understatement. Maddie was known for her ability to make others smile and laugh with her offbeat and hilarious sense of humor — and it was well-known by all who knew her to never let her get hungry!"

Mogen was using her marketing skills to run a social media campaign for the restaurant. She loved the color pink and planned to move to Boise after graduating this spring, family friend Jessie Frost told The Idaho Statesman.

She and Goncalves had grown up together in Northern Idaho and were best friends.

"They were sisters; she was one of ours," Goncalves' mother said at the memorial service. 

Mogen's father said the pair had been inseparable since the 6th grade. 

"They were true sisters, and our families grew bigger and better from that," said Ben Mogen.

Maddie Mogen's boyfriend, Jake Schriger, also spoke at the memorial and said the couple had been for two years.

"Maddie was my best friend. She was the first person I talked to every morning and the last person I talked to before bed," Schriger said.

What happened the night of the murders

The night the four students were killed, Mogen and Goncalves were at the Corner Club in downtown Moscow. 

They were then seen at the Grub Truck, a nearby food truck, around 1:40 a.m., before a private party drove them home. They arrived after 1:45 a.m. 

Investigators believe the four students were killed between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m.

Police responding to the crime scene found Mogen and Goncalves together in the bed in Goncalves' room on the third floor of the house. They had both suffered stab wounds. 

Latest coverage of the Idaho murders on KING 5's YouTube 

Before You Leave, Check This Out