Armchair detectives
Zara Mcdermott investigates how lives have been ruined by cybersleuths...
During the early hours of 13 November 2022, four university students – Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen – were brutally stabbed to death in their home in Moscow, Idaho, following a night out.
Within weeks, the crime had become the biggest story on the internet, reaching nearly two billion hits on Tiktok and spawning hundreds of armchair detectives and conspiracy theorists.
False accusations
However, as Strictly star Zara Mcdermott discovers in her new one-off documentary, the online fascination led to several wrongful accusations and ruined lives.
Even the victims’ room-mates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, who somehow escaped the stabbing, have been forced into hiding.
‘I was one of the people absolutely hooked by the case,’ admits Zara.
‘All these online sleuths were creating content and coming up with all these theories. I was fascinated by how hungry people were for information and the lengths they were willing to go to get it.’ In the documentary, Zara meets several cybersleuths, including Destiny Martin, who lied about being a journalist to attend police press conferences and live-stream them to her online audience.
Zara discovers that although a criminology student called Bryan Kohberger has since been arrested for the murders and is due to stand trial, the online frenzy hasn’t died down. So, are the online sleuths simply exploiting the tragedy for clicks?
‘They believe they’re looking down avenues the police may not have considered,’ says Zara. ‘But something really tragic happened and there are real people behind the sleuths’ accusations. This is not entertainment.’