In the early morning hours of Nov 13, 2022, a crime that captivated the world took place. 4 University of Idaho students, all in their early 20s, were brutally murdered in their off- campus house in Moscow Idaho. The victims' families as well as the public demanded answers for who could commit this heinous crime. The question of who could do this was eventually answered, but we may never know the why... 

Sources: 

Oliveira, Alex, “Sister of murdered Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves gives birth to baby girl - giving her middle name of MaddieKay in tribute to her and best friend Maddie Mogen”, DailyMail, Feb 27, 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11798675/Sister-murdered-Idaho-student-Kalyee-Goncalves-gives-birth-baby-girl.html, accessed Aug 4, 2025.   

Valentine, Kara, “Kaylee Goncalves' parents remember her and best friend Maddie Mogen one year after their deaths”, KTVB, Nov 13, 2023,  https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/special-reports/moscow-murders/local-kaylee-goncalves-parents-remember-best-friend-maddie-mogen-one-year-murder/277-59f3443b-4f17-4701-94bc-341680c9d5dd, access Aug 4, 2025.   

Fox13 Staff, “Idaho murder victims: Who were Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen”, Fox 13 Seattle, Jan 6, 2023, https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/remembering-idaho-murder-victims-who-were-kaylee-goncalves-madison-mogen-xana-kernodle-and-ethan-chapin, accessed Aug 4, 2025.   

DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER, “Read the FULL affidavit on how Idaho cops linked Bryan Kohberger to the murders of four college students”, Daily Mail, Jan 5, 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11603723/Read-affidavit-Bryan-Kohbergers-arrest.html, accessed Aug 8, 2025.   

Kinsey, Jordan, “ Idaho student murders: A timeline of the killings and investigation”, CBS News, July 25, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/idaho-student-murders-bryan-kohberger-arrest-timeline/, accessed Aug 8, 2025.   

“The Idaho Student Murders: Sentencing| Court TV Podcast”, CourtTV Podcast, July 30, 2025, https://www.courttv.com/podcasts/the-courttv-podcast/?itm_campaign=menu, accessed Aug 1, 2025.     

Sundel, Jenna, “Bryan Kohberger Sentencing: Heartbreaking Moments as Victim Statements Read”, Newsweek, July 23, 2025, https://www.newsweek.com/idaho-student-murders-victim-statements-bryan-kohberger-sentencing-2102986, accessed July 29, 2025  

Ruiz, Michael; Rumpf-Whitten, Sarah, “Newly released documents reveal Idaho killer's disturbing behavior before campus murders”, Fox News, July 24, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/us/newly-released-documents-reveal-idaho-killers-disturbing-behavior-before-campus-murders, accessed Aug 9, 2025.   

“Made with Kindness Foundation”, https://www.madewithkindnessfoundation.com/, accessed Aug 9, 2025.   

“Ethan’s Smile”, https://www.ethanssmile.org/, accessed Aug 9, 2025.  

Garbus, Liz; Galkin, Matthew,  “One Night in Idaho: The College Murders”, Amazon Prime, s. 1. ep. 1-4, https://www.primevideo.com/detail/One-Night-in-Idaho-The-College-Murders/0H8TO383E8V8BGK1FQRJFFG5G0, 

After not hearing from their friend Travis, a group of his friends would go over to Travis Alexander’s house on June 9th 2008 where they would find him dead in his standup shower. Travis would have a gunshot wound to his head, had been stabbed 27 times and as well had his throat cut from ear to ear. Could a relationship gone wrong be the cause for Travis’s death?   

Sources: 

Lohr, David, “Jodi Arias Timeline: Key Dates In Case Of California Woman Accused Of Stabbing Ex-Boyfriend 27 Times (UPDATED)”, Huffpost, December 6, 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jodi-arias-timeline_n_2387245, Accessed August 4th 2025  

Glynn, Casey, “Jodi Arias: A timeline of a sensational murder case”, CBS News, May 21, 2013, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jodi-arias-a-timeline-of-a-sensational-murder-case/, Accessed August 4th 2025 

Shuvrajit, Das Biswas, “Travis Alexander’s Murder: How Did He Die? Who Killed Him?”, The Cinemaholic, August 7th, 2020, https://thecinemaholic.com/travis-alexander-murder/, Accessed August 4th 2025  

Fraga, Kaleena, “Inside The Murder Of Travis Alexander, The Man Who Was Slaughtered By His Jealous Ex Jodi Arias”, All Thats Interesting, November 6th 2024, https://allthatsinteresting.com/travis-alexander, Accessed August 4th 2025  

We're back with our seventeenth Leave The Light On episode where we recap the cases we covered in the previous month, discuss crime headlines from the month, and give you a sneak peek at what is coming up in the next month. If we know!

References: 

Hutchinson, Bill, “Timeline of Manhattan mass shooting: Suspect Shane Tamura allegedly drove from Nevada to commit attack” , ABC News, July 29, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-manhattan-mass-shooting-suspect-shane-tamura-allegedly/story?id=124170934, Accessed July 31st 2025. 

Sundel, Jenna, “Bryan Kohberger Sentencing: Heartbreaking Moments as Victim Statements Read”, Newsweek, July 23, 2025, https://www.newsweek.com/idaho-student-murders-victim-statements-bryan-kohberger-sentencing-2102986, accessed July 29, 2025 

Silver, Lauren, “So long, farewell: Another attorney withdraws from Sarah Boone’s case”, CourtTV, July 29, 2025, https://www.courttv.com/news/so-long-farewell-another-attorney-withdraws-from-sarah-boones-case/, accessed Aug 1, 2025. 

“The Idaho Student Murders: Sentencing| Court TV Podcast”, CourtTV Podcast, July 30, 2025, https://www.courttv.com/podcasts/the-courttv-podcast/?itm_campaign=menu, accessed Aug 1, 2025.  

On January 31st 2013, 21 year old Elisa Lam who was traveling on the west coast of the United States missed a check in call with her parents who were home in Vancouver. After not hearing from her, Elisa’s parents would then call the Los Angeles Police to search the infamous Cecil Hotel. A surveillance video from an elevator would be the last time anyone would see Elisa alive. 

Sources: 

Brknhrt, “Elisa Lam”, Find a grave, May 20, 2013, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110876498/elisa-lam, Accessed July 27th 2025 

Gurley, Alex, “Elisa Lam’s Body Was Found at the Infamous Cecil Hotel 13 Years Ago. Inside the Mysterious Circumstances Around Her Death — and What Police Really Think Happened”, People, February 19, 2025, https://people.com/what-happened-to-elisa-lam-cecil-hotel-11680025, Accessed July 27th 2025 

Ishak, Natasha, “Elisa Lam: The Real Story Of Her Death In The Cecil Hotel”, Allthatsinteresting, September 1, 2023, https://allthatsinteresting.com/elisa-lam-death, Accessed July 27th 2025 

Biography.com Editors, “Elisa Lam Biography”, A&E; Television Networks, February 9, 2021, //www.biography.com/crime/elisa-lam, Accessed July 27th 2025 

St.Clair, Joshua, “The True Story of What Happened to Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel”, Mens Health, February 10, 2021, https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a35410248/elisa-lam-death-vanishing-cecil-hotel-true-story/, Accessed July 27th 2025  

Veliz, Leslie, “Tragic Details Found In Elisa Lam's Autopsy Report”, Grunge, January 30, 2023, https://www.grunge.com/706604/tragic-details-found-in-elisa-lams-autopsy-report/, Accessed July 27th 2025 

On January 26, 2022, 23-year-old Alexis went out to meet up with one of her friends, however, she never returned home. Alexis’s family reported her missing the next day. Over time, investigators pieced together what happened the night that Alexis went missing and uncovered the horrifying truth. 

Sources: 

“Where Is Alexis?” On the Case with Paula Zahn, season 27, episode 8, narrated by Paula Zahn, Investigation Discovery, 24 Apr. 2024. 

Goard, Alyssa, “Family, friends gather to remember Alexis Gabe at memorial in Concord”, NBC Bay Area, June 17, 2023, https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/alexis-gabe-memorial-concord/3254548/, accessed July 20, 2025.   

Nakano, Andrea,  “Alexis Gabe murder investigation ends with no charges against ex-boyfriend's mother; family "very disappointed"”, CBS News, Jan 24, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/alexis-gabe-murder-investigation-ends-no-charges-against-ex-boyfriend-mother-oakley/, accessed July 20, 2025.  

Shrestha, Naman,  “Alexis Gabe Murder: How Did Marshall Curtis Jones Die?”, The Cinemaholic, April 24, 2024, https://thecinemaholic.com/alexis-gabe/, accessed July 20, 2025.  

Hassan, Anser,  “Alexis Gabe's family upset at DA's decision not to charge mother of accused killer”, Jan 24, 2025, https://abc7news.com/post/alexis-gabes-family-upset-das-decision-not-charge-mother-accused-killer/15832839/, accessed July 20, 2025.  

Nakano, Andrea, “Oakley community honors memory of Alexis Gabe with "kindness day"”, CBC News, January 26, 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/oakley-community-honors-memory-alexis-gabe-kindness-day/, accessed July 20, 2025.   

Balagtas, Tristan, “Months After Discovering Ex's Cryptic Notes, Police Find Remains of Calif. Woman Who Vanished in January”, People, Nov 7, 2022, https://people.com/crime/alexis-gabe-california-woman-murdered-by-ex-police-find-remains/, accessed July 20, 2025.   

Reid, Kyani, “Ex-boyfriend of missing California woman Alexis Gabe killed after charging officers attempting to arrest him for her murder”, NBC News, June 3, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/ex-boyfriend-missing-california-woman-alexis-gabe-killed-after-charging-n1295964, accessed July 20, 2025.   

In October of 2012, 37-year-old, Cari Farver began casually dating Dave Kroupa, however 2 weeks into the relationship Cari suddenly disappeared. Although Cari had essentially vanished physically, Dave was soon being bombarded by texts and emails from Cari and the harassment was not limited to just Dave. Another woman who Dave had been casually seeing, Liz Goylar, was also being harassed by threatening texts and emails supposedly from an incredibly jealous Cari. The harassment continued for years, but finally in 2015, investigators were able to track down the source of the harassment as well as the truth of Cari’s whereabouts.    

Sources: 

Gowen, Gwen; Deutsch, Gail, “What seemed like a horrific stalking case was a jealous lover's cover for murder”, ABC News, Dec 3, 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/US/horrific-stalking-case-jealous-lovers-cover-murder/story?id=74431142, accessed July 7, 2025.  

Giacomazzo, Bernadette, “The Chilling Murder Of Cari Farver, The Woman Who Seemingly Sent Texts For Years After Her Disappearance”, AllThatsInteresting.com, Jan 13, 2024, https://allthatsinteresting.com/cari-farver, accessed July 7, 2025.  

Sager, Jessica, “Lover, Stalker, Killer: Where Are Dave Kroupa and Liz Golyar Now?”, People.com, Feb 9, 2024, https://people.com/lover-stalker-killer-where-are-dave-kroupa-liz-golyar-now-8558923, accessed July 7, 2025.  

Mehrotra, Kriti, “Cari Farver Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?”, TheCinemaholic, Feb 8, 2024, https://thecinemaholic.com/cari-farver-murder/, accessed July 7, 2025.  

On June 24th 2002 while at a friends house, 15 year old Kara was outside watering plants when a man pulled into the driveway. Striking up a conversation, the man would then go on to kidnap Kara and take her back to his apartment where he would assault her for the next 18 hours.  

Sources: 

Pelisek, Christine, “At 15, Kara Robinson Chamberlain Was Kidnapped by a Serial Killer. She Not Only Escaped — She Helped Catch Him”, People, February 17th 2022, https://people.com/crime/kara-robinson-chamberlain-survived-serial-killer-helped-catch-him-as-teen/, Accessed July 6th 2025  

Morgan, Amber, “Kara Robinson: The 15-Year-Old Girl Who Escaped A Serial Killer, Then Helped Police Solve Three Of His Murders”, All Thats Interesting, August 29, 2024, https://allthatsinteresting.com/kara-robinson, Accessed July 6th 2025  

Finn, Natalie, “Why Kara Robinson's Escape From a Suspected Serial Killer in 2002 Is as Timely a Story as Ever”, E News, February 11, 2023, https://www.eonline.com/news/1364336/why-kara-robinsons-escape-from-a-suspected-serial-killer-in-2002-is-as-timely-a-story-as-ever, Accessed July 6th 2025 

Dziemianowicz, Joe, “‘Picking Me Was The Greatest Mistake He Ever Made’: Where Is Kara Robinson’s Kidnapper Now?”, Oxygen True Crime, September 26, 2021, https://www.oxygen.com/escaping-captivity-the-kara-robinson-story/crime-news/where-is-kara-robinsons-kidnapper-richard, Accessed July 6th 2025  

Gokhale, Stuti, “Kara Robinson Chamberlain: Where is Kidnapping Survivor Now?” The Cinemaholic, February 11, 2023, https://thecinemaholic.com/kara-robinson-chamberlain-where-is-kidnapping-survivor-now/, Accessed July 6th 2025  

Gal Vallerius was a seemingly mild-mannered Frenchman, with a wife and family, living in Paris France. However, behind the scenes, or should we say, behind the screen, Gal was known as “OxyMonster”, one of the most prominent drug dealers on the dark web.    

Sources: 

“Dark web”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_web, accessed June 17, 2025. 

“Dark Web Administrator Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking and Money Laundering”, U.S. Department of Justice Archives, Oct 9, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/dark-web-administrator-sentenced-20-years-prison-narcotics-trafficking-and-money-laundering, accessed June 16, 2025 

Schaffer, Lisa M., “Underground Drug Trafficker 'OxyMonster' Sentenced to 20 Years”, FindLaw.com, Mar 21, 2019, https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/criminal-defense/underground-drug-trafficker-oxymonster-sentenced-to-20-years/, accessed June 16, 2025. 

DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS, “French 'OxyMonster' drug dealer who was arrested when he arrived in the US for a beard competition is sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a trafficking operation on the dark web”, Dailymail.com, Oct 9, 2018, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6258439/French-OxyMonster-jailed-20-years.html, accessed June 17, 2025.  

Thubron, Rob, “Dark web drug dealer and fan of large beards gets 20-year prison sentence”, TechSpot, Oct 11, 2018, https://www.techspot.com/news/76879-dark-web-drug-dealer-fan-large-beards-gets.html, accessed June 17, 2025. 

Schwartz, Drew, “Competitive Beard Grower Admits He Helped Run Massive Dark Web Drug Site”, Vice, June 12, 2018, https://www.vice.com/en/article/competitive-beard-grower-oxymonster-dream-market-pleads-guilty-vgtrn/, accessed June 17, 2025. 

“Mustache and Beard Competitions: The Complete Guide”, Beard Growth World, https://www.beardgrowthworld.com/beard-and-mustache-competition/, accessed June 21, 2025.  

“Opioids and the opioid crisis – Get the facts”, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/opioids/get-the-facts.html, accessed June 21, 2025. 

“Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic”, CDC, Nov 1, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/about/understanding-the-opioid-overdose-epidemic.html, accessed June 21, 2025. 

We're back with our sixteenth Leave The Light On episode where we recap the cases we covered in the previous month, discuss crime headlines from the month, and give you a sneak peek at what is coming up in the next month. If we know!

References: 

CBS News, “Travis Decker, fugitive dad accused of killing 3 daughters, may have died while evading police, authorities say” CBS News, June 25 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/travis-decker-dad-accused-killing-daughters-possibly-dead-authorities/, Accessed June 26 2025  

“Victimly Insane: The Frank Jarvis Atwood Interview”, Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Victimly-Insane-Jarvis-Atwood-Interview/dp/0991359186, June 29, 2025. 

“And the Two shall become One: The Frank J. Atwood & Rachel L. Atwood Story”, GoodReads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40077422-and-the-two-shall-become-one, accessed June 29, 2025. 

Shrestha, Naman, “John O’Keefe: How Did He Die? Was He Killed?”, TheCinemaholic, Oct 17, 2024, https://thecinemaholic.com/john-okeefe/, accessed June 29, 2025. 

El-Bawab, Nadine; Murtha, Erin; Deliso, Meredith, “Karen Read found not guilty of murder in retrial on police officer boyfriend's death”, ABC News, June 18, 2025, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/karen-read-found-not-guilty-of-murder-in-retrial-on-police-officer-boyfriends-death/ar-AA1GYA93, accessed June 29, 2025. 

McColgan, Flint, “Not Guilty! Jury clears Karen Read of murder, leaves only OUI conviction”, Boston Herald, June 18, 2025,  https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/18/karen-read-found-not-guilty-on-murder-manslaughter-guilty-on-oui/, accessed June 29, 2025. 

Dostal, Peter, “History of Sexual Assault”, The Criminal Law Notebook, https://criminalnotebook.ca/index.php/History_of_Sexual_Assault, accessed June 29, 2025. 

“Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act”, Canada Justice Laws Website, June 6, 2015, https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2015_23/page-1.html, accessed June 29, 2025. 

On the night of June 2nd 2011, 20-year-old University of Indiana student Lauren Spierer had some friends over to watch a basketball game. Deciding that the night was not finished, Lauren went over to a friend's place to keep the party going. Lauren and her friends then went to several other locations that evening. Lauren would last be seen leaving her friend, Jason’s home around 4:30AM on June 3rd, but has not been seen since. Lauren was last seen wearing black leggings and a white tank top with a white shirt over it.  

If you have any information on Lauren or her whereabouts, please contact either Bloomington Police at 812-339-4477 or Crime Stoppers of central Indiana at 317-262-tips

Sources:  

Kelly, Erin, “The Chilling Story Of Lauren Spierer, The College Student Who Vanished Into Thin Air”, All Thats Interesting, February 6th 2022, https://allthatsinteresting.com/lauren-spierer, Accessed June 21 2025 

Sinha, Shivangi, “Lauren Spierer: What Happened to Her? Has She Been Found?”, The Cinemaholic, August 24th 2023, https://thecinemaholic.com/lauren-spierer-found-or-missing-is-she-dead-or-alive/, Accessed June 21 2025 

Deutschmann, Jennifer, “The Biggest Lauren Spierer Theories: What Really Happened?”, Grunge, January 24th 2023, https://www.grunge.com/631090/the-biggest-lauren-spierer-theories-what-really-happened/, Accessed June 22 2025 

Uncovered contributors, “Lauren Spierer”, Uncovered, June 9th 2024, https://uncovered.com/cases/lauren-spierer, Accessed June 22 2025