Favorite pink cowboy boots of murdered Idaho student Madison Mogen can be seen in window

August 2024 · 7 minute read

Propped against the window in the bedroom where she died, University of Idaho murder victim Madison Mogen's favorite pink cowboy boots are pictured – a poignant reminder of an owner who will never wear them again.

The photo was taken by DailyMail.com 10 days after Madison, 21, was brutally stabbed to death while asleep at home by a killer whose identity remains a mystery and whose motive has left cops stumped.

The 21-year-old died alongside best friend Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20, in the early morning attack on November 13 that resulted in a scene so bloody, police told DailyMail.com it was 'the worst we've ever seen'.

All three girls lived in the house, along with roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, 19, who both miraculously survived.

Like her roommates, Madison had enjoyed college life and posted photos of herself wearing the pink boots at a bar on her social media on August 13 with the caption: 'How did I get so lucky?'

Her heartbroken grandfather Michael Mogen, 71, told DailyMail.com she had loved college and had been 'a model student'.

He said: 'Everybody loved Maddie. There's no conflict I've ever heard of. Since she's been at college and involved in her sorority life, you can see from the pictures it was such a joyful experience for her.

'She was our first grandchild She was just a delightful little girl. I've never seen her even cause any trouble. She was curious, a model student all the way through.'

Propped against the window in the bedroom where she died, University of Idaho murder victim Madison Mogen¿s favorite pink cowboy boots are pictured ¿ a poignant reminder of an owner who will never wear them again

Propped against the window in the bedroom where she died, University of Idaho murder victim Madison Mogen's favorite pink cowboy boots are pictured – a poignant reminder of an owner who will never wear them again

The photo was taken by DailyMail.com 10 days after Madison, 21, was brutally stabbed to death while asleep at home by a killer whose identity remains a mystery and whose motive has left cops stumped. Her pink cowboy boots are still visible in her window

The photo was taken by DailyMail.com 10 days after Madison, 21, was brutally stabbed to death while asleep at home by a killer whose identity remains a mystery and whose motive has left cops stumped. Her pink cowboy boots are still visible in her window

In an Instagram post on August 13, Madison posed in her pink cowboy boots and wrote: 'how did I get so lucky??'

In an Instagram post on August 13, Madison posed in her pink cowboy boots and wrote: 'how did I get so lucky??'

Friends Kaylee Goncalves, 21, (second left), Madison Mogen, 21, (on Kaylee's shoulders), Ethan Chapin, 20, (second right) and Xana Kernodle, 20, (next to Ethan) were stabbed to death on Sunday November 13 between 3am and 4am. Their roommates - Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke (far left and far right) - both survived

Friends Kaylee Goncalves, 21, (second left), Madison Mogen, 21, (on Kaylee's shoulders), Ethan Chapin, 20, (second right) and Xana Kernodle, 20, (next to Ethan) were stabbed to death on Sunday November 13 between 3am and 4am. Their roommates - Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke (far left and far right) - both survived

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Share Michael Mogen, Maddie grandfather, told DailyMail.com: ¿We're still just trying to process the whole thing. And it's painful watching this thing drag out with no answers'

Michael Mogen, Maddie grandfather, told DailyMail.com: 'We're still just trying to process the whole thing. And it's painful watching this thing drag out with no answers'

Michael added: 'She got so much attention because she was our first grandchild. We'd see her mainly at holidays and birthday as she got older and got her own social life.

'We'd see her five or six times a year when she went off to college. She's a beautiful girl who was always a delight.'

Although her parents split when she was a small child, Madison appears to have had a happy childhood and was close to her father Ben – even after he was handed three-years-probation for drug possession in April 2021.

On his Facebook page, photo after photo shows dad and daughter together while he also flagged up a vigil that took place in Coeur D'Alene last week.

Meanwhile, in a tearful interview with DailyMail.com, Scott Laramie, 52, who is married to Madison's mother Cheryl, 45, paid tribute to his stepdaughter, saying: 'She was just an amazing girl. They were all great kids. She was just doing her thing.

Laramie added: 'Just try to express the love that I have for my daughter.'

Madison, a senior who was majoring in marketing at the University of Idaho's College of Business and Economics, was best friends with Goncalves – with both attending Lake City High in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, before going on to college.

On the night they died, Madison and Kaylee had spent the night at the Corner Club – a Moscow dive bar popular with students.

Police sources told DailyMail.com that the scene inside the home is ¿the worst they¿ve ever seen¿ with the victims left to bleed out following the brutal early morning attack

Police sources told DailyMail.com that the scene inside the home is 'the worst they've ever seen' with the victims left to bleed out following the brutal early morning attack 

Blood still visible at the back of the house where four Idaho students were murdered as they slept in Moscow, Idaho

Blood still visible at the back of the house where four Idaho students were murdered as they slept in Moscow, Idaho

The Moscow Police Department have found themselves under increasing pressure to produce answers into the brutal slayings of four students as they slept ¿ including why 911 was only called nine hours later

The Moscow Police Department have found themselves under increasing pressure to produce answers into the brutal slayings of four students as they slept – including why 911 was only called nine hours later

At approximately 1.30am, the pair were caught on camera purchasing a portion of carbonara pasta from Grub Wandering Kitchen – a food truck that offers late night eats at weekends.

Parked up close to the Moscow branch of insurers State Farm and outdoor store Hyperspud Sports, Madison and Kaylee were last glimpsed walking away towards what police have called 'a private party driver' for their final ride home.

The route, seen in exclusive DailyMail.com video, takes less than five minutes to complete and cuts through the University of Idaho campus and passes the Sigma Chi house on the right where Xana and Ethan spent their last night before taking a left up King Road towards their home.

Poignantly, the drive also goes past the Moscow Police Department headquarters which can be seen on the left just as the route turns right onto the campus.

According to police, the pair arrived home at 1.45am – at the same time as Ethan and Xana and 45 minutes after Dylan and Bethany.

Less than two hours later, Madison, Kaylee, Xana and Dylan were dead – butchered as they slept by a knife-wielding villain.

Autopsy results showed all four died from stab wounds to the chest, with police saying the murder weapon was a large military-style knife which still hasn't been found.

Kaylee's dog Murphy survived the attack unscathed and didn't make a sound, while the first Dylan and Bethany knew of their roommates' fate came after 11am when they woke up and went upstairs to find them dead.

Police have asked for video from neighborhoods backing on to the property – suggesting they believe the killer entered and exited at the back of the house before escaping up a hill.

But in a twist that adds to the mystery of what happened to Madison and her friends, neighbors living in the homes backing onto the home and whose property would have been part of any escape route on foot said they heard and seen nothing.

Cynthia Mika, 70, told DailyMail.com that police had been to her home to ask for video but said all was quiet on the night the students died.

She said: 'We didn't hear a thing. Our neighbors have a dog who barks and he would have woken us up if he saw anything. He didn't bark.'

Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (middle) lived in the modest Moscow rental house with fellow University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle (second from left) Kaylee Goncalves (second from right) and Madison Mogen (right)  but survived the attack. They have been ruled out as suspects

Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (middle) lived in a modest Moscow rental house with fellow University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle (second from left) Kaylee Goncalves (second from right) and Madison Mogen (right)  

In their most recent press conference, the Moscow Police Department said they are still looking for tips but have still not found the murder weapon and don't have a suspect.

For Madison's family – and those of the other murdered students – that day can't come soon enough.

Laramie said: 'Now that the FBI is helping out, we're confident that they'll find out who did this. Because there are more resources, more expertise focused on it.'

Grandfather Michael added: 'It's just so unbelievable that she could be involved in something like this.

'We're still just trying to process the whole thing. And it's painful watching this thing drag out with no answers.

'When I was first told about this I just couldn't process it. It wasn't really till we got together as a family and we were able to reminisce that I feel like I'm coming back to myself again.

'All this stuff going on with the investigation, I can't stop following it because I want to know the answers but it's really frustrating and painful to do.

If somebody dies in a car wreck or something, you don't have all these other ongoing things to deal with.

'How this could possibly happen? It's the farthest thing from what I could ever imagine.'

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