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On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students — Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen — were brutally stabbed to death in a house near the university’s campus in Moscow, Idaho. #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders is a three-part docuseries that describes the social media frenzy that surrounded the case, with online sleuths gathering evidence on the ground or wildly speculating about who might have been responsible for the grisly killings.
Opening Shot: A snowy drone shot of Moscow, Idaho.
The Gist: It took about six weeks for Moscow police, along with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, to arrest a suspect in the Idaho murders; Bryan Christopher Kohberger was found near his hometown in Pennsylvania. But during those six weeks, cybersleuths who were mostly on TikTok speculated on potential suspects and complained when the Moscow PD was tight-lipped about how the investigation was going. There were so many rumors going around, including one about a “hoodie guy” seen in a video of two of the women who were killed that was captured at a food truck they visited that night, that the Moscow PD had a “rumor page” on its website.
The series’ producers interview a number of online sleuths, including Olivia, known on TikTok as “choniclesofolivia” and Ailene, known on TikTok as ” bullhornbetty”. They actually went to Idaho to investigate, get as close to the crime scene as possible, and talk to whoever they can about the incident. Others, like Jenna, known as “jenna_canella” on TikTok, were more in speculative mode, trying to figure out why the unnamed surviving housemates didn’t call 911 until hours after the murders took place, if “hoodie guy” had anything to do with the killings, or perhaps one of the victim’s ex-boyfriends or a neighbor that simply came off as “creepy.”
When Kohberger did get arrested, the cybersleuth community was shocked, as he wasn’t on anyone’s radar. But was he using all the online speculation to help him avoid capture?
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? There are a bunch of docuseries about amateur sleuths, but the one that sticks out most in our minds is Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer.
Our Take: The producers of #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders are trying to show how much online sleuthing for a big case like these murders in Idaho can both help and hinder the investigation into the crime. At least we think that’s the idea they were trying to get at with this series. The first episode of the series seems to be leaning more towards celebrating the online sleuths, when it seems in this case their speculation led to more people being hurt and really added nothing to the investigation.
One of the things we wanted the filmmakers to talk about more was the difference between people like Olivia and Betty, who were actually on the ground and doing the investigative work that may have filled in blanks that law enforcement missed, and people like Jenna, who essentially fired up their phones and spewed out names and theories. There is certainly a difference between what the first group did versus what the second group did, and the second group was the one that hindered the investigation, given the thousands of tips that were sent to the Moscow PD, all of which they were obligated to investigate.
Yes, the filmmakers do talk to mainstream media journalists, all of whom are careful to not condemn the speculators but acknowledge that the standards members of the MSM are under are there for a reason. But when the first episode ended, we found ourselves wanting a bit more of a deep dive into how the lack of understanding of how actual journalism or police work operates leads online sleuths to determine they can say things MSM journalists can’t and that law enforcement was falling down on the job because they didn’t immediately name a person of interest. Do the spewers think that real life is like CSI? It’s something that we really would have wished the filmmakers pursued.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: Scenes from the next episode show that, after being completely taken by surprise by Kohberger’s arrest, the online sleuths immediately turn their attention to speculating if he had help, especially from the surviving roommates who took eight hours to call 911.
Sleeper Star: We’ll give this to Bullhorn Betty, because she has the gall to call 911 and tell the operator she’s “working a case”.
Most Pilot-y Line: The producers didn’t have to show the number of followers/friends/etc. each interviewee has on social media. Yes, it’s funny to see one local be shown with a total of zero Facebook followers, but the only people we really needed to see the follower count on was the actual online sleuths.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Despite our reservations, #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders is still a good review of this grisly case, and we think that the filmmakers will eventually get their message across about the good and bad aspects of online speculation about cases like these.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
