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Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. In

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this episode, we're going to pick up where we left

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off with the declaration of Brian Edelman in support of

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Brian Kohberger. The impact on the community. This crime had

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a devastating impact on the Leta County residents, many of

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whom considered this to be a very safe and close

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knit community prior to the murders. More than half fifty

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six percent of the survey respondents reported that they are

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someone they know experienced higher levels of stress, anxiety, or

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fear during the search for the killer. That number increased

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to sixty three percent for Moscow residence. Another forty percent

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of perspective jurors had visited or walked by the home

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where the murders occurred. The University of Idaho plays an

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important role in Leayta County and the local economy. It's

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nine four hundred and ninety three students and two three

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hundred and twenty one full time employees composed thirty six

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percent of the county's population over the age of eighteen.

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As such, the exodus of students after the Thanksgiving break

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had a significant impact on local businesses. Approximately seventy eight

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percent of Laytak County. Survey respondents reported that they or

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someone they know lived in Moscow at the time of

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the murders. In addition, twenty five percent reported that their

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family members was a student or employee at the University

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of Idaho and Moscow. Leayta County survey respondents were asked

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how the murders impacted their community. Many reported that the

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environment was very tense and everyone was on edge. Residents

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were on high alert and living in a state of

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fear for the first time. People were locking their doors.

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Parents feared for their children's lives, and the sudden student

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exodus hurt local businesses. Others complained about the influx of

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media and reporters into Moscow. Survey respondents described the personal

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fear they and their neighbors experienced while the killer remained

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at large. I think tremendously basically changed everyone's lives. A

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community that felt extremely safe, caring, personable changed in an instant.

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I don't know how long it'll take for the college

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students to feel safe again. It was so terrible. It

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jarred the whole community. It has impacted us in a

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very negative way. It ripped our community apart. We lived

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in fear for so long. I know I still do,

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and it wouldn't be surprising if others are too. Community

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was shocked and we felt a deep loss, and it

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broke all of our hearts. We had a very dark

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cloud over our community for so long. The fear we

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faced will forever change our community forever, and it's going

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to take a long time for our community to get

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back to normal again. For me, dramatically, I had to

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shut a business, lost interaction with students because they had

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to leave. It changed everything immediately, and we are just

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now beginning to get that back. It impacted me and

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our community in a major way. We live in a small,

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innocent town and no crimes or a horrible thing has

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ever happened before. This was a wholesome town where everyone

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looked out and helped everyone, a town not too common

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these days, and that man took that from us. I

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was trying to hire people in some of the candidates

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wouldn't consider the job because of the murders, and there's

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a lot of sadness in the community. I think several

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people feel that the university shouldn't have torn down the

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house until after the trial. It just puts the fear

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in everybody that nobody is safe, and I definitely checked

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my doors to make sure that their locked before I

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go to bed. I have friends that have young daughters

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and one friend that had a daughter, and I have

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two nieces that live in Moscow, and I bought them

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bear spray and I told her to keep it in

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her bedroom and if someone comes in, open it up

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on them. It made everyone scared for a long time

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until they found them. My wife works at the college

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and you could see the house from her office. The

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students and staff ran from their cars to the building

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because they were so scared. My wife wouldn't go to

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the store until I got home because she didn't like

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going by herself. It shook the whole community. I bought

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a house in twenty fourteen and they didn't even give

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me keys. I feel pretty secure being in my location,

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but the people in town I knew were losing their mind.

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I know people in both colleges, and people were sad

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and confused. It was unbelievable and tragic. It was absolutely atrocious.

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I think it changed the way people felt in the

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community and changed the community forever. It invoked a lot

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of fear. My children were scared, and we lived thirty

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five miles out of town. I would fear for any

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person of student age in Moscow, whereas before it was

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a safe place. It really takes you by surprise. I

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don't lock my doors or my vehicles, never have, but

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if I lived in Moscow, I would. It's devastating and

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it's got everyone on edge. If he got away with it,

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who will be the next to do it. It's something

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that's discussed a lot. People started locking their doors when

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they ordinarily wouldn't. This is the kind of community where

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people don't even have house keys. That's not the case anymore.

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It was pretty shocking to people. Oh my god, it

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terrified the university. There were kids that just left school

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because they were scared. It's not something that occurs in

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the area very often. I hate it now that everyone

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knows Mama because of the murders, and that's very sad.

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It should be known for such better things. The community

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was very freaked out, and the whole school didn't shut

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down completely, but a lot of kids left before the semester.

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It's so sad someone committed a murder like this for

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no apparent reason. It's not what this area is all about.

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I am a University of Idaho alumni. Scared everyone. Cops

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were checking everyone's cameras. We were not prepared for something

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like this in our community, and we still don't have

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any sort of understanding of why this happened. It's changed

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everyone's way of living and thinking, terrifying to a lot

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of women who live here, and made you think differently

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about how to live your life significantly. We live in

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a small community, so we were all affected by this.

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We feared leaving our homes, our businesses were affected. We

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are still a little on edge strongly. People on campus

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were very worried, especially before they had a suspect. Even

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though I'm nowhere near a target. It made me increase

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my security. It scared everyone. Wow, we were scared. I

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live out in the country and who knows where the

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person could be hiding. We were very scared because we

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didn't know where he was or where he could be.

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And I was especially scared as a mom. Terrified us.

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We never locked our doors. Now we lock our doors

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and have security systems. It's going to get worse when

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the trial starts. Extremely disturbed about it. The media was

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very negative. It was shocking, it was painful for the witness.

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What irks our nerves is his thesis on how to

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get away with murder and crime. It was really sad

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in the following months, and we are not in a

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big county, and too many reporters were there. It was

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very dark times, a lot of fear in the community.

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On campus had added security and it shook up the community.

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It was immediately scary when they didn't have a suspect.

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It impacted economically and the school closed. It was a

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shock to our community and we live with unsettled feelings

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since it happened. It was terrifying. After this happened, many

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of us have lived in fear and still do. It

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shut everything down for quite a while, the university and everything.

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It was the talk of everywhere you went in person, news,

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just stopping for coffee, because something like this just doesn't

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happen around here. It undermines the sense of safety in

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our small community and it was very traumatic. It was

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horribly sad for the victims and the victims' families, the students,

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and our community. It scared us all we lived in fear.

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There was a lot more police presence than normal. Our

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younger adults were scared to leave campus and their homes.

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We had a difficult time feeling safe in the community.

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It put our community through hell. It was an awful thing.

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It impacted our community drastically and in a negative way.

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It took the innocence away from our community. Also caused

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us to live in fear. It instilled a lot of

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fear in the high school students. All the press were

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parked out here. It was intimidating. It has made us

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close and lock our doors, created doubt in our community.

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Our community used to be safe. It's made me not

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trust anymore and be more cautious. It devastated the community

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and made everyone scared. We now lock our doors. We

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lived in Moscow my entire life. First time we have

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ever felt unsafe. Once he was caught, it was a

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little better, but still have some insecurities, especially on campus.

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I think it impacted us deeply, and I think it's

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going to leave a mark on us for a long time,

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if not forever. I only live fifteen miles from where

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this happened. The community is still reeling from this. I

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think a lot more people started locking their doors. It's

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been a pretty open community, but a lot are locking

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their doors and considering buying firearms, especially for the college kids.

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I think it really rattled the college to the core.

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I get scared driving in Moscow. Had a huge impact

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on the community. It shocked us. It had a huge

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impact on the college. It made us all weary and

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we were frantic. Some students left and didn't come back

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four three semesters. It was very scary time for me

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in our community, and everyone was scared because it's a

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small community. Devastatingly, the green was overwhelming. I did go

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to a memorial and it was a heartfelt outpouring for

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love for the victims and their families. Everyone was afraid.

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Some people left for the semester and didn't come back,

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not going here anymore. The University of Idaho ramped up

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security and was very visible to help people feel more safe.

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Because I worked for the university, I saw with a

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lot of students and other faculty. I heard about some

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of the classes that the victims were taking. They canceled classes,

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and the university offered mental health counseling sessions outside of

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the university. There were a lot of people that felt

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unsafe until the suspect was caught in the community. As

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a whole. There was a loss of innocence and we

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never thought anything like this would happen in our community,

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and now that it has, our community has been changed forever.

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Community pressure to convict Brian Kolberger as demonstrated in answers

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to several of the open ended questions. Many Leta residents

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expressed a sense of relief after the defendant was arrested.

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Survey respondents were asked how they believed residents in their

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county would react if the jury acquitted Brian Coolberger. Leayta

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County survey respondents answers indicate that all local jury will

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be under tremendous pressure to convict so that the community

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can begin to heal and recover the sense of safety

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that was lost. Many survey respondents reported that an acquittal

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would lead to an uproar and put residence back into

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a state of fear knowing that the killer was free.

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Others reported that Brian Kolberger would be killed if he

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was acquitted. Some said the community would place blame on

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local prosecutors and law enforcement if there was a not

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guilty verdict. Survey respondents also reported that the defendant should

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have to present evidence to convince the community that he

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was not guilty. These comments reinforce the quantitative data which

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show a strong presumption of guilt in Leyta County. Examples

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of these types of reactions to a hypothetical acquittal include

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they'd burden down the courthouse. Outrage would be a mild description,

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very upset. They would think the jury failed. I think

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we would all be heartbroken all over again, and fear

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would probably rise in us again. I don't think we

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would be okay with a not guilty verdict at all.

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It would be very hard for the community to accept,

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and it would be difficult for us to move forward

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and feel safe in the community like we once did

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before this horrible tragedy. Oh my gosh, I would be

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so afraid. Possible riots. We will be disgusted unless some

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major evidence proves different. The entire county mostly believes in

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his guilt. They better have substantial evidence to not convict,

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and people would be fine if that was the case.

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If he's not guilty, prove it. They will have to

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prove with real evidence that he's not involved in the murder.

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They prove that he's not guilty, that have to figure

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and find somebody else because someone killed those kids. I

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can't imagine that happening, because they have so much against them.

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We would be dumbfounded. I don't see how I can't

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imagine this. I think there's a lot of people that

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have already made up their minds and would be upset.

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They would lose faith in the justice system. I think

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the community would not be happy. Most people I have

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talked to say they're convinced he did it. I think

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it would be very negative. I think the general consensus

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is that he's guilty. A lot of hotheads here in Idaho.

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I think it would be very scary. A lot of

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people think he's guilty. I think they would be rather

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shocked because of the evidence gathered. The DNA and stalking

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are hard to get around. I think they would be

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angry and shocked. I think they should try him right here.

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All right, we're gonna wrap up right here, and then

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the next episode we're gonna pick up with. I think

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the reaction would be horrible. Most people are convinced that

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he's guilty. All of the information that goes with this

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episode can be found in the description box.