DENVER (Court TV) — The mother of one of the University of Idaho students murdered by Bryan Kohnberger took the stage at CrimeCon to offer her perspective on the brutal murders and the DNA technology that led investigators to the killer.
Stacy Chapin (L) and Kristen Mittelman (R) host a panel at CrimeCon on Sept. 6, 2025. (Court TV)
Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home on Nov. 13, 2022. The quadruple murders shook the small town of Moscow, Idaho, and had investigators following leads across the country in their search for a suspect. Ethan’s mother, Stacy Chapin, was emotional as she described learning of her son’s death. She had been grocery shopping, standing in the produce aisle, when Ethan’s brother called her.
“He kept saying on the phone, ‘Mom, Ethan’s not here,’ and I kept saying to him, ‘Well, go and get him,'” Stacy said. Then her son said, “You don’t understand, Mom. Ethan and Xana are not on this earth anymore.”
After hearing the news, Stacy abandoned her shopping cart and left the store. She and her husband then had to get in their car and drive for more than five hours to Moscow. They picked up Ethan’s siblings from the police station and the four went to a hotel for the night. The next morning, Stacy woke up early and went out for a walk.
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“I walked to the house,” Stacy said, referring to the crime scene. “My son was still there in it. And I just stood outside of it for a little bit.”
Just days after the murders, Stacy said her family struggled to celebrate Thanksgiving. “I was feeling very much like I had nothing to give thanks for this Thanksgiving.”
At the same time, Dr. Kristen Mittelman received a phone call that would change the trajectory of the investigation. Mittelman is the chief development officer of Othram, the DNA technology company credited with identifying Kohberger.
In this photo provided by Stacy Chapin, triplets Maizie, left, Ethan, second from left, and Hunter, right, pose with their parents Stacy and Jim Chapin at Priest Lake in northern Idaho in July 2022. Ethan Chapin was one of four University of Idaho students found stabbed to death in a home near the Moscow, Idaho campus on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (Stacy Chapin via AP)
Othram had previously worked on cold cases, using genetic genealogy to breathe new life into the investigation. This was the first time they were tasked with working on an active investigation. Mittelman said they called their team to ask if they would be willing to work over the Thanksgiving holiday to work on the case. “Everyone said yes,” Mittelman said. “Nobody even hesitated.”
Mittelman and Stacy met at CrimeCon in 2023 at a gathering for the families of victims of high-profile crimes. At the time, there was a gag order in effect for the case, and Mittelman could not reveal that she and her team had been tasked with studying DNA to help solve the crime. But Mittelman did talk to Stacy, giving her a hug and promising that “You don’t have to worry.”
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When the gag order was lifted following Kohberger’s sentencing, Stacy’s phone rang immediately; Mittelman was calling to reveal her involvement in the case.
“The phone call was the greatest thing, because it started the part where we fulfilled the promise of the hug.”
Mittelman said her goal is to have more law enforcement agencies have access to the technology that Othram uses. “We built Othram because we want to see victims and families get justice as quickly as possible.
