Slain student Ethan Chapin’s parents have spoken out for the first time after their son was brutally murdered alongside his girlfriend and her two flatmates last year.
Jim and Stacy Chapin said their son’s untimely death threw them into the “depths of hell”.
The grieving parents recalled the last time they saw their 20-year-old son, who is a triplet, when they dropped him off to start university.
Stacy told Fox News: “We drove out of town that Sunday morning and we literally high-fived each other that day.
“We literally congratulated each other. We were like, ‘We’ve done it, we’ve done it. They’re ‘adulting.’ They’re kind. We’ve done it. We can rest easy.”
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They had no idea what was about to happen to their beloved son.
Then just seven days later, Ethan, 20, was stabbed to death alongside his girlfriend, Xana Kernodle, 20, while they slept alongside each other.
Her roommates, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, who were in the same bed in a separate bedroom, were also killed.
All four students attended the University of Idaho, in Moscow.
Explaining the last time he saw his son, Jim recalled: “We said goodbye in the parking lot Saturday night.
“Sigma Chi house. Gave him a hug. Told him to be safe. And that was the last time.”
Despite the horrific circumstances, the parents are trying to remain positive. Stacy said: “It’s a tough hand to be dealt, but we can’t change the outcome.”
The family have, instead, channelled their grief into a foundation, Ethan’s Smile, in honour of their son which focuses on prioritising funding for scholarships in Skagit Valley.
After Ethan’s murder, Stacy, Jim, and his surviving triplets, Hunter and Maizie, all shut off to the world and spent two months in together mourning their loved one.
Stacy said: “We just walked it out. Talked. Told stories. Cried.
“One day, I was out walking by myself. I was crying so hard. I happened upon somebody. And I thought they were going to call 911 on me.”
Jim said he doesn’t live with any regrets, as he recalls attending all of Ethan’s sports games and spending quality time with him.
Stacy added: “You never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball. … I think we got the worst curve ball.”
But, she still says, “I wouldn’t know what I know now and change the 20 years that I had.”
Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology student from Washington State University, is accused of murdering the four undergrads on November 13, 2022.
He will appear back in court in June, but Ethan’s parents won’t be there.
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