True crime cases in Idaho span decades of criminal history, from unsolved disappearances in rural communities to high-profile investigations in the state's largest cities. Idaho law enforcement agencies, from local police departments to the state bureau of investigation, have tackled cases ranging from cold-case homicides and serial offenders to fraud schemes and domestic violence tragedies. CaseSleuth tracks each Idaho case with comprehensive timelines, profiles of victims and persons of interest, evidence summaries, and links to media coverage and court documents. Browse the cases below to explore the full scope of criminal investigations in Idaho.
2 cases found
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students — Kaylee Goncalves (21), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20), and Ethan Chapin (20) — were stabbed to death at an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning hours. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University, was identified through investigative genetic genealogy linking his DNA to a knife sheath left at the scene, corroborated by surveillance footage of his white Hyundai Elantra and cellphone location data. Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022, in Pennsylvania and ultimately pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary; he was sentenced on July 23, 2025, to four consecutive life terms without parole plus ten years for burglary.
Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were convicted of murdering Lori's two youngest children, JJ Vallow (7) and Tylee Ryan (16), and conspiring to kill Chad's first wife, Tammy Daybell. The case involved apocalyptic religious beliefs, multiple suspicious deaths, and a months-long search for the missing children, whose remains were found buried on Chad Daybell's Idaho property in June 2020. Lori was sentenced to life without parole in Idaho (2023) and received additional life sentences in Arizona (2025) for conspiracy to murder her ex-husband Charles Vallow. Chad was sentenced to death in Idaho (2024).