Nearly two years after the murder of Idaho students, campus hopes to restore 'that light back' through honoring the victims.
Stacy Chapin, mother of Ethan Chapin, expressed her gratitude for the 'amazing' support she received from her children's friends and the university.
A garden memorial was unveiled at the University of Idaho on a bright Wednesday afternoon to honor the four students killed on Nov. 13, 2022, and other students the school has lost since.
The University of Idaho College of Art and Architecture students created the Vandal Healing Garden, which was opened two days after fall classes began this week.
Stacy Chapin, whose son Ethan Chapin was one of the four Idaho students killed in 2022, praised the project's quality and recognized the effort put in by the kids who built it, according to a statement she made to Planet Chronicle Digital.
The memorial has two sides: one dedicated to Ethan, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Madison Mogen, and the other for all University of Idaho families to remember their loved ones.
Stacy Chapin expressed her gratitude for the "incredible" support she received from her son's fraternity brothers, her daughter's sorority sisters, the university, and the community as a whole.
"It was an amazing day." — Stacy Chapin
The November 2022 memorial has a structure that represents the favorite colors of all four students, as explained by Chapin.
Drew Giacomazzi, Ethan's friend and fraternity brother, was among the students responsible for creating the memorial.
This week, Giacomazzi was left speechless when he witnessed the culmination of the 18-month community-funded garden project, which involved numerous meetings between students, school staff, and design professionals.
In his speech on Wednesday, he stated that the university felt "dark, cold, and distant" following the murders. The purpose of the Healing Garden is to create a distinctive area that brings together University of Idaho students, alumni, and the Moscow community.
To honor Kaylee, do more of what you love. To honor Maddie, spread that love with random acts of kindness. To honor Xana, be silly and do something spontaneous and fun. And to honor Ethan, tell stories with an abundance of laughter.
The Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial was constructed by students with assistance from faculty and alumni, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the University of Idaho. The memorial serves as a symbol of the university's community strength and the inspiring response from the community.
The garden is a space for coming together in moments of grief and reflection to honor the Vandal students lost by the school.
On November 13, it will be two years since the murders of Kernodle, Chapin, Goncalves, and Mogen, who were all 20 or 21 years old, occurred in a student rental home near campus during the middle of the night.
Giacomazzi, who was visiting his sister in New York at the airport, was closest to Ethan, a person who could brighten up a whole room with his laughter and make others feel welcome. He was devastated when he learned that Ethan had passed away, recalling being in a state of shock upon hearing the news.
The moment was terrifying, and seeing news cameras there made it even more surreal. Our fraternity was clueless about what to do. The university seemed stunned and unsure of how to react. It was a bizarre time in Moscow, as recalled by Giacomazzi.
"This Healing Garden is just an area to bring that light back to campus." — Drew Giacomazzi
The Healing Garden will provide a safe space for students to experience and process their grief emotions, as Giacomazzi explained. Although there have been areas on campus where students could go through these emotions, there was nothing specifically designed and dedicated to this purpose. The Healing Garden aims to bring light back to campus by creating a dedicated space for students to process their emotions.
In his remarks on Wednesday, University of Idaho President Scott Green stated that the tragedy served as the "motivation" for the garden memorial.
""This garden memorial honors four vibrant individuals who were full of promise and life, and serves as a reminder that even in difficult times, we can find hope and light," Green stated."
A 29-year-old Ph.D. student named Bryan Kohberger, who studies criminology at the University of Washington in Pullman, is suspected of stabbing four students in their rooms on a Sunday morning. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial next year.
Kohberger is requesting that his trial be held in a different location, away from Latah County, where the killings occurred.
In a February court filing, Anne Taylor, Kohberger's lead defense attorney, stated that a fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County due to extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces.
The defendant's efforts to change the trial venue are ongoing.
Planet Chronicle Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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