Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
this episode, we're going to pick up where we left
off with the declaration of Brian Edelman in support of
Brian Kohberger. The impact on the community. This crime had
a devastating impact on the Leta County residents, many of
whom considered this to be a very safe and close
knit community prior to the murders. More than half fifty
six percent of the survey respondents reported that they are
someone they know experienced higher levels of stress, anxiety, or
fear during the search for the killer. That number increased
to sixty three percent for Moscow residence. Another forty percent
of perspective jurors had visited or walked by the home
where the murders occurred. The University of Idaho plays an
important role in Leayta County and the local economy. It's
nine four hundred and ninety three students and two three
hundred and twenty one full time employees composed thirty six
percent of the county's population over the age of eighteen.
As such, the exodus of students after the Thanksgiving break
had a significant impact on local businesses. Approximately seventy eight
percent of Laytak County. Survey respondents reported that they or
someone they know lived in Moscow at the time of
the murders. In addition, twenty five percent reported that their
family members was a student or employee at the University
of Idaho and Moscow. Leayta County survey respondents were asked
how the murders impacted their community. Many reported that the
environment was very tense and everyone was on edge. Residents
were on high alert and living in a state of
fear for the first time. People were locking their doors.
Parents feared for their children's lives, and the sudden student
exodus hurt local businesses. Others complained about the influx of
media and reporters into Moscow. Survey respondents described the personal
fear they and their neighbors experienced while the killer remained
at large. I think tremendously basically changed everyone's lives. A
community that felt extremely safe, caring, personable changed in an instant.
I don't know how long it'll take for the college
students to feel safe again. It was so terrible. It
jarred the whole community. It has impacted us in a
very negative way. It ripped our community apart. We lived
in fear for so long. I know I still do,
and it wouldn't be surprising if others are too. Community
was shocked and we felt a deep loss, and it
broke all of our hearts. We had a very dark
cloud over our community for so long. The fear we
faced will forever change our community forever, and it's going
to take a long time for our community to get
back to normal again. For me, dramatically, I had to
shut a business, lost interaction with students because they had
to leave. It changed everything immediately, and we are just
now beginning to get that back. It impacted me and
our community in a major way. We live in a small,
innocent town and no crimes or a horrible thing has
ever happened before. This was a wholesome town where everyone
looked out and helped everyone, a town not too common
these days, and that man took that from us. I
was trying to hire people in some of the candidates
wouldn't consider the job because of the murders, and there's
a lot of sadness in the community. I think several
people feel that the university shouldn't have torn down the
house until after the trial. It just puts the fear
in everybody that nobody is safe, and I definitely checked
my doors to make sure that their locked before I
go to bed. I have friends that have young daughters
and one friend that had a daughter, and I have
two nieces that live in Moscow, and I bought them
bear spray and I told her to keep it in
her bedroom and if someone comes in, open it up
on them. It made everyone scared for a long time
until they found them. My wife works at the college
and you could see the house from her office. The
students and staff ran from their cars to the building
because they were so scared. My wife wouldn't go to
the store until I got home because she didn't like
going by herself. It shook the whole community. I bought
a house in twenty fourteen and they didn't even give
me keys. I feel pretty secure being in my location,
but the people in town I knew were losing their mind.
I know people in both colleges, and people were sad
and confused. It was unbelievable and tragic. It was absolutely atrocious.
I think it changed the way people felt in the
community and changed the community forever. It invoked a lot
of fear. My children were scared, and we lived thirty
five miles out of town. I would fear for any
person of student age in Moscow, whereas before it was
a safe place. It really takes you by surprise. I
don't lock my doors or my vehicles, never have, but
if I lived in Moscow, I would. It's devastating and
it's got everyone on edge. If he got away with it,
who will be the next to do it. It's something
that's discussed a lot. People started locking their doors when
they ordinarily wouldn't. This is the kind of community where
people don't even have house keys. That's not the case anymore.
It was pretty shocking to people. Oh my god, it
terrified the university. There were kids that just left school
because they were scared. It's not something that occurs in
the area very often. I hate it now that everyone
knows Mama because of the murders, and that's very sad.
It should be known for such better things. The community
was very freaked out, and the whole school didn't shut
down completely, but a lot of kids left before the semester.
It's so sad someone committed a murder like this for
no apparent reason. It's not what this area is all about.
I am a University of Idaho alumni. Scared everyone. Cops
were checking everyone's cameras. We were not prepared for something
like this in our community, and we still don't have
any sort of understanding of why this happened. It's changed
everyone's way of living and thinking, terrifying to a lot
of women who live here, and made you think differently
about how to live your life significantly. We live in
a small community, so we were all affected by this.
We feared leaving our homes, our businesses were affected. We
are still a little on edge strongly. People on campus
were very worried, especially before they had a suspect. Even
though I'm nowhere near a target. It made me increase
my security. It scared everyone. Wow, we were scared. I
live out in the country and who knows where the
person could be hiding. We were very scared because we
didn't know where he was or where he could be.
And I was especially scared as a mom. Terrified us.
We never locked our doors. Now we lock our doors
and have security systems. It's going to get worse when
the trial starts. Extremely disturbed about it. The media was
very negative. It was shocking, it was painful for the witness.
What irks our nerves is his thesis on how to
get away with murder and crime. It was really sad
in the following months, and we are not in a
big county, and too many reporters were there. It was
very dark times, a lot of fear in the community.
On campus had added security and it shook up the community.
It was immediately scary when they didn't have a suspect.
It impacted economically and the school closed. It was a
shock to our community and we live with unsettled feelings
since it happened. It was terrifying. After this happened, many
of us have lived in fear and still do. It
shut everything down for quite a while, the university and everything.
It was the talk of everywhere you went in person, news,
just stopping for coffee, because something like this just doesn't
happen around here. It undermines the sense of safety in
our small community and it was very traumatic. It was
horribly sad for the victims and the victims' families, the students,
and our community. It scared us all we lived in fear.
There was a lot more police presence than normal. Our
younger adults were scared to leave campus and their homes.
We had a difficult time feeling safe in the community.
It put our community through hell. It was an awful thing.
It impacted our community drastically and in a negative way.
It took the innocence away from our community. Also caused
us to live in fear. It instilled a lot of
fear in the high school students. All the press were
parked out here. It was intimidating. It has made us
close and lock our doors, created doubt in our community.
Our community used to be safe. It's made me not
trust anymore and be more cautious. It devastated the community
and made everyone scared. We now lock our doors. We
lived in Moscow my entire life. First time we have
ever felt unsafe. Once he was caught, it was a
little better, but still have some insecurities, especially on campus.
I think it impacted us deeply, and I think it's
going to leave a mark on us for a long time,
if not forever. I only live fifteen miles from where
this happened. The community is still reeling from this. I
think a lot more people started locking their doors. It's
been a pretty open community, but a lot are locking
their doors and considering buying firearms, especially for the college kids.
I think it really rattled the college to the core.
I get scared driving in Moscow. Had a huge impact
on the community. It shocked us. It had a huge
impact on the college. It made us all weary and
we were frantic. Some students left and didn't come back
four three semesters. It was very scary time for me
in our community, and everyone was scared because it's a
small community. Devastatingly, the green was overwhelming. I did go
to a memorial and it was a heartfelt outpouring for
love for the victims and their families. Everyone was afraid.
Some people left for the semester and didn't come back,
not going here anymore. The University of Idaho ramped up
security and was very visible to help people feel more safe.
Because I worked for the university, I saw with a
lot of students and other faculty. I heard about some
of the classes that the victims were taking. They canceled classes,
and the university offered mental health counseling sessions outside of
the university. There were a lot of people that felt
unsafe until the suspect was caught in the community. As
a whole. There was a loss of innocence and we
never thought anything like this would happen in our community,
and now that it has, our community has been changed forever.
Community pressure to convict Brian Kolberger as demonstrated in answers
to several of the open ended questions. Many Leta residents
expressed a sense of relief after the defendant was arrested.
Survey respondents were asked how they believed residents in their
county would react if the jury acquitted Brian Coolberger. Leayta
County survey respondents answers indicate that all local jury will
be under tremendous pressure to convict so that the community
can begin to heal and recover the sense of safety
that was lost. Many survey respondents reported that an acquittal
would lead to an uproar and put residence back into
a state of fear knowing that the killer was free.
Others reported that Brian Kolberger would be killed if he
was acquitted. Some said the community would place blame on
local prosecutors and law enforcement if there was a not
guilty verdict. Survey respondents also reported that the defendant should
have to present evidence to convince the community that he
was not guilty. These comments reinforce the quantitative data which
show a strong presumption of guilt in Leyta County. Examples
of these types of reactions to a hypothetical acquittal include
they'd burden down the courthouse. Outrage would be a mild description,
very upset. They would think the jury failed. I think
we would all be heartbroken all over again, and fear
would probably rise in us again. I don't think we
would be okay with a not guilty verdict at all.
It would be very hard for the community to accept,
and it would be difficult for us to move forward
and feel safe in the community like we once did
before this horrible tragedy. Oh my gosh, I would be
so afraid. Possible riots. We will be disgusted unless some
major evidence proves different. The entire county mostly believes in
his guilt. They better have substantial evidence to not convict,
and people would be fine if that was the case.
If he's not guilty, prove it. They will have to
prove with real evidence that he's not involved in the murder.
They prove that he's not guilty, that have to figure
and find somebody else because someone killed those kids. I
can't imagine that happening, because they have so much against them.
We would be dumbfounded. I don't see how I can't
imagine this. I think there's a lot of people that
have already made up their minds and would be upset.
They would lose faith in the justice system. I think
the community would not be happy. Most people I have
talked to say they're convinced he did it. I think
it would be very negative. I think the general consensus
is that he's guilty. A lot of hotheads here in Idaho.
I think it would be very scary. A lot of
people think he's guilty. I think they would be rather
shocked because of the evidence gathered. The DNA and stalking
are hard to get around. I think they would be
angry and shocked. I think they should try him right here.
All right, we're gonna wrap up right here, and then
the next episode we're gonna pick up with. I think
the reaction would be horrible. Most people are convinced that
he's guilty. All of the information that goes with this
episode can be found in the description box.