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Moscow, Idaho

I t’s blisteringly hot, but the Sig Chi brothers wear their suits nonetheless.

They want to honor Ethan.

Stacy Chapin hugs each of them as they file into the new Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial for the dedication ceremony. She’d asked Blaine Eckles earlier if the guys could sit close to the Chapins.

It’s the first time since the tragedy of November 13 that representatives of all four victims’ families are together in Moscow.

The Goncalveses sit at the front to the left facing the podium. Ben Mogen is behind them. The Chapins and the Kernodles, represented by Jazzmin Kernodle and a couple of Xana’s aunts, sit to the right.

James Fry stands at the back, almost unrecognizable in his jeans. Mayor Bettge is there. So are most of the Moscow PD. They are standing guard. There are still some true-crime maniacs around who are unhealthily obsessed with the King Road murders. Occasionally they surface on campus.

And, though few people talk about it, everyone is aware that sitting in a basement cell less than a mile away is the suspected murderer.

For Steve and Kristi, he’s front of mind.

The hearing to decide the change of venue is only three days away.

Kristi posted on their Facebook page: “All I can think about is the Change of Venue hearing this Thursday. I’m just sick about it…

I wish I could snap my fingers and it would be over.

The anticipation eats me alive. Please pray for us. ”

Today, though, the Goncalves family is not on defense.

In fact, they are fully supportive of Dean Eckles and the university.

Kristi even wears a T-shirt emblazoned with VANDAL STRONG.

Steve Goncalves chats amicably with Chief Fry.

He shakes Jim Chapin’s hand. Dean Eckles hands him a folder of Kaylee’s work.

Steve and Kristi do several interviews with local media.

They say that yes, it’s hard to be here.

But they are glad to honor their daughter.

They think the healing garden is a wonderful idea.

Dean Eckles came up with the concept of the garden after the vigil.

He knew that the university needed to memorialize the Idaho Four, and while they were at it, he thought, why not create a space to remember all the UI students who passed away too soon while attending college?

There have been four student deaths since November 2022.

So the dean invited everyone to discuss where the space might go and what it could look like.

More than a hundred students, among them Hunter Chapin, and faculty members came.

Eckles created a garden committee that included not just landscape architects but representatives of the victims’ fraternities and sororities: one from APhi, one from Sig Chi, and two from Pi Phi.

Dr. Shauna Corry, the dean of UI’s College of Art and Architecture, developed a class focused on the creation of a template.

“They identified plants that work with our temperature, our climate, time of year… They measure how dark it gets on what days of the year.… They have done so much work,” Dean Eckles said with pride.

Earlier, in the spring of 2023, the four families were invited to sit in on the class and give their input.

Stacy felt that it was one of the most cathartic experiences she and Jim had had since Ethan’s death. The kids didn’t ask them specific questions about garden design; they asked general, thoughtful questions, like “What does it mean to be a Vandal?” and “What are the words that describe Ethan?”

Ever the mother hen, Stacy felt a bond forming with these young kids, and she’s thrilled to recognize many of them—wearing matching black shirts—on this big day.

Emily Alandt can’t get to the ceremony today. The drive from Boise is too long, and Hunter Johnson is at work.

But she was asked to pick a flower for Xana. She’d suggested a Peruvian lily because the lily is Xana’s birth flower and the Peruvian lily, Emily thinks, has the same sort of sparkle and spirituality as her late friend.

The Goncalves family will post on Facebook that they found it a deeply emotional, special day. They have buried the hatchet with the university for now.

It’s hard to say which part of it is the most moving.

Maybe it is the moment of silence for Ethan, Xana, Maddie, and Kaylee.

Or maybe it is when Drew Giacomazzi, Ethan’s friend and fraternity brother, speaks about each of the four victims, concisely describing their distinct personalities in a way no one will easily forget:

“Do more of what you love to honor Kaylee. Spread that love with random acts of kindness for Maddie. Be silly and do something spontaneous and fun to honor Xana. And tell stories with an abundance of laughter to live life like Ethan.”