Ex-Roommate of Idaho Murder Victims Speaks Out: 'You Never Know ... How Long Someone Is Watching Your House'
Ashlin Couch opened up on ‘Good Morning America’ about the tragic 2022 killings of her former roommates at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho
ABC News/YouTube
Ashlin CouchA former roommate of the University of Idaho students who were killed in November 2022 is speaking out for the first time.
“It crosses my mind more that that could’ve happened while I was there,” Ashlin Couch said in a segment that aired on Good Morning America on Wednesday, May 8. “And, you know, you never know, like how long someone is watching your house.”
According to GMA, Couch moved out of the off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home in May 2022, six months before the murders took place. Her former roommates and friends, Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were fatally stabbed in the three-floor residence on Nov. 13, 2022. All four were close friends and students at the University of Idaho.
Related: Idaho Murders Timeline: Everything to Know About the Case
Couch recalled receiving a university alert about a possible homicide on King Road and the fear that came over her.
“And I remember, like my last text message to [Mogen] was like, are you OK?" Couch said, per GMA. “And, I feel like right then and there, I kind of just knew that something was wrong.”
The man charged in connection with the killings is 29-year-old Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D criminology student at Washington State University who lived in Pullman, Wash., roughly eight miles away from the scene of the crime, at the time of the killings.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial, delaying the case indefinitely. If convicted, Kohberger faces the death penalty.
According to a probable cause affidavit previously reviewed by PEOPLE, authorities claim DNA and cell phone pings link Kohberger to the crime scene.
Related: Idaho Murder Suspect: What We Know About Bryan Kohberger
In April, Kohberger's public defender Anne C. Taylor claimed in a court filing that her client was driving outside of Moscow on the night of the murders and was not near the home where Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin were stabbed to death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Related: Why Prosecutors Say Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger’s Alibi Is Inadequate
Courtesy of Chapin Family; Maddie Mogen/Instagram; Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram; Xana Kernodle/Instagram
From left: Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle.“Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars," the filing read.
The home at the center of the murders was demolished in December 2023 after the owner donated it to the university.
"This is a healing step and removes the physical structure where the crime that shook our community was committed," a February 2023 statement from the school announcing the house's planned demolition, read. "Demolition also removes efforts to further sensationalize the crime scene. We are evaluating options where students may be involved in the future development of the property.”
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