Idaho murder victim's mom breaks silence with blunt message about suspect Bryan Kohberger's trial

The mother of University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has broken her silence with a blunt message about her daughter's suspected killer's murder trial. 

Karen Laramie interviewed for the first time since her daughter was named as one of four victims in the tragic Idaho murders on November 13, 2022. 

Mogen, 21, her best-friend 22-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin were fatally stabbed in their off-campus home. 

Laramie gushed about her daughter Maddie on the Today show on Wednesday, and spoke about her experience in finding justice ahead of Bryan Kohberger's trial which is to take place three years after the horrific murders. 

'I feel like the legal system is not about the victims,' she said, when asked about the length of time it has taken to reach the upcoming trial set for August 2025. 

Kohberger was charged in 2023 with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.

Laramie hadn't spoken publicly since the students' lives were tragically taken, but spoke in-depth about the toll of losing her daughter in such a horrific manner. 

'It's real but I know where the girls are, and faith is really the basis of how you get up every morning when you have a loss this deep,' she said. 

'Madison is absolutely amazing and always has been... she was just a joy.' 

Laramie appeared alongside the mother of Mogen's best friend Ashlin Couch and discussed the Made with Kindness Foundation, created in honor of her daughter and her friends. 

'So, I think the most important thing is it's going to be really fun to be part of the scholarship committee and just watch kids, read what they have to say, what's in their hearts, and be able to give them back something,' she said. 

'Everyone needs a helping hand, and I'm just really super excited to see.'

Laramie told the outlet that she was inspired for the foundation by a memory of the two visiting Seattle, she recalled: 'I'm watching her as an adult, going shopping and being in these stores, and I'm like, "You're just so kind to everybody." Like, did I really, did we really ingrain that in you? Like, that's amazing.' 

'One time, she called my cousin on Veterans Day and said, 'Thank you for your service,' after she lived with him and like, burned half his pans,' she said.  

She described her daughter as someone who 'had that genuine love', and added: 'We're missing our kids, and to have something to put your heart into positively... there are no words.' 

Ashlin shared earlier this year the gut-wrenching moment she knew from a text chain that something was wrong and the heartbreak of losing her friends.  

She had lived with the girls until May 2022 before Xana Kernodle took over her lease. 

Couch recalled receiving the alert that there had been a homicide near her former home and texted her friends to see if they were okay. 

'I texted like our group of friends, and I just had said, 'Has anyone heard from Maddie?' And I remember, like my last text message to her was like, 'Are you okay,'' Couch told KXLY.

 'I felt it like right then and there, I kind of just knew that something was wrong.'

'It crosses my mind more that, that could have happened while I was there. And, you know, you never know like how long someone is watching your house,' she said.

Couch was also involved in the creation of the Made with Kindness Foundation in remembrance of her friends. 

'I just wish that I could do at least one more time is like, you know, just give her one last hug just to be able to say goodbye,' Couch said. 

In November, earlier this year, the parents of Kaylee Goncalves also spoke out as Kohberger attempted to fight the death penalty and gave him a stern warning.

Kristi and Steve Goncalves said to the suspected killer that he would 'burn in hell', as they stated they were '100 percent' adamant that he should face the death penalty. 

Kohberger's defense claimed that he was suffering 'anxiety and fear' over his potential death sentencing, Kaylee's parents called the claims 'absolutely ridiculous.' 

'Did my daughter know the way she was gonna go? Did Maddie know? Did any of the kids know the way they were gonna go? Did they know they had two hours left, one hour left, five minutes left,' Kristi asked.

As Kohberger's defense issued their final arguments, stating that the death penalty does not reflect international law and modern-day standards of decency - Judge Hippler wasn't convinced.

'I understand the argument,' he said. 'It's falling about as flat as you would expect it to fall.'

His defense team had successfully argued that Kohberger's trial should be held outside of Moscow, Idaho, where the murders took place due to strong emotions and extensive media coverage.

Now, his trial - scheduled to begin with jury selection on July 30, 2025 - is being heard in Ada County in Boise in hopes of a more favorable jury.

Prosecutors have claimed that Kohberger's DNA was found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath found at the victim's off-campus home, though no murder weapon was ever found.

Officials have also claimed that cell phone data and surveillance put Kohberger's car at the crime scene.

Kohberger was a PhD criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University's Pullman campus, a 15-minute drive from Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger has maintained his innocence since his arrest and filed his alibi in 2023 as 'late night drives'.