Idaho student murder victim’s mother explains why she won’t attend Bryan Kohberger’s trial

Suspect pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary ahead of October trial

The mother of one of the four University of Idaho murder victims has revealed she will not attend Bryan Kohberger’s trial.

The 28-year-old suspect is charged with killing Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison “Maddie” Mogen, 21, in the early hours of 13 November.

“It does not change the outcome of our family, and it’s energy that we need to put into healing our kids and getting back to a new family dynamic and working on that,” Stacy Chapin said on TODAY.

Stacy Chapin and son Ethan Chapin (Twitter/TODAY)

“We let the prosecutors do their job and we do our job in our family.”

Ethan Chapin was staying at the home in Moscow, Idaho, with his girlfriend Xana Kernodle when an intruder broke into the home and brutally murdered them with a knife.

Mr Kohberger was a PHD criminology student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the murders and is set to go on trial on 2 October.

Prosecutors say that he is linked to the crime scene by DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left behind in the house, video surveillance footage and cell phone data.

He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary.

Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, listens during his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho (Getty Images)

Ms Chapin told host Savannah Guthrie that she had written a children’s book called The Boy Who Wore Blue in memory of her son, who was a triplet.

“It’s the best I can do for him,” she added.

She also showed off a tattoo on her left arm in her son’s handwriting which reads, “I love you mom” with a heart and is signed “Ethan” from a card he had given her.

She said that Ethan’s siblings, Hunter and Mizie, had returned to the University of Idaho after their brother’s murder and completed their semesters.

Ms Chapin also said that she was intent on focusing on her children and not her anger.

“It has its moments, of course. But we get up every morning and we just decided that the best thing we can do is put our best foot forward, mostly for Maizie and Hunter,” she said.

“They deserve it. They didn’t deserve this, and so they deserve still the best life that we can give them, and that is really our strength. It drives us.”