One Night in Idaho: The College Murders

This is not a true crime documentary- there's little to no insight into the investigation and how they caught this disgraceful murderer.

I understand that, as the parents wanted to ensure it was the children who were remembered. Whether by choice or due to gag orders, only certain people could be interviewed and only 2 sets of the parents speaking about 2 of the victims. So it all feels a bit disjointed and unfocused as a documentary. You deeply feel for the parents.

It's an indictment on social media and media and the access they have to murder cases in the states. The Dean of the college is grossly out of his depth and mismanaged the support / notifications to the families and witnesses. The police department did a good job, though under skilled with how to manage this kind of media intensity.

If you like the process of the investigation- this is not the documentary for you.

Feels like this was a rush to get it to market, should have waited till post trial for a more well rounded telling.

This is one of the best true crime documentaries I've ever seen. It felt very real and deeply personal. I imagine this is because of access to the victims social media accounts and because of the interviews with family and friends. I thought I knew this story so I almost didn't watch it. I'm grateful I did because the media never gets everything right and this film allowed truths to be told and misinformation and conjecture to be dispelled. The focus is on the victims and is not a documentary on the killer. A small bit of his story is told, but more important is how the family suffered through the investigation and the aftermath of losing their loved ones. Truly unthinkable pain and yet some of them were bravely able to share their experience. Very well done.

"One Night in Idaho..." is quite tastefully and beautifully done, with sensitivity to the four students' loved-ones... The right amount of time has passed to do this, and it truly needed the four full parts to carefully go through everything. Also extremely poignant and touching beyond words -- and though it is still 'raw' and difficult, the four students' loved-ones shared truthfully and straightforwardly with heart, soul, and spirt. Really appreciated delving into special and sometimes cute & humerus details about each of the belov-ed lost friends and family-members. (One little small example is that, since i too have always emptied the Taco Bell sauce packets totally so that there's no need for that "paperwork" while eating, i will forevermore think of Ethan when getting things at Taco Bell.) Many aspects of Ethan, Kaylee, Maddie, and Xana are endearing and also resonate with me. Am grateful to now know much more of their awesome natures and spirits of living... Thank you for all who developed and participated in this lovingly-done series.

In a genre increasingly plagued by overproduced, sensationalist fluff, One Night in Idaho: The College Murders on Amazon Prime is a breath of (mostly) fresh air. It doesn't try to dazzle viewers with dramatic reenactments or tabloid-style commentary. Instead, it attempts-and largely succeeds-at telling a difficult story with a level of care and clarity that's been sorely missing in other portrayals of this case (looking directly at you, Hulu).

This four-part docuseries gives the viewer something that so many true crime productions fail to deliver: context, compassion, and a coherent timeline. The writers and producers smartly prioritize the voices of those closest to the victims-friends, family members, professors-who help ground the story in something human and real. These aren't just names or headlines. The series paints a portrait of each of the four students as individuals with ambition, warmth, quirks, and deep connections to their communities.

One of the biggest strengths here is the production's restraint. There are no tacky sound effects, no dark-and-stormy editing tricks, and no overuse of "experts" trying to one-up each other in dramatic flair. Instead, the creators allow the story to unfold at a steady, even somber pace. When law enforcement officials appear, they're not treated like celebrities or saviors-they're presented as public servants doing difficult work under immense pressure. It's refreshingly earnest.

The structure of the series is deliberate and well-paced, especially in episodes two and three, which focus on the investigative timeline. It avoids the mistake of jumping around or needlessly confusing the viewer just to create artificial suspense. Instead, it trusts that the audience is capable of engaging with the material without constant manipulation. That's a rare thing in true crime these days.

That said, it's not perfect. Some critics have pointed out, and I agree, that the final episode veers a little too heavily into speculative territory. While the series had, until that point, avoided sensationalism, the final chapter occasionally treads dangerously close to the kind of "armchair detective" energy that it had otherwise worked hard to avoid. It's not egregious, but it's noticeable-and a little disappointing given the high bar the rest of the series set for itself.

Visually, the series is clean and polished without being flashy. The interview setups are tasteful and intimate. Archival footage and still images are used sparingly and appropriately, never overstaying their welcome. The music is subtle and moody, underscoring the gravity of the subject matter without melodrama. The entire production team clearly made intentional decisions to maintain tone and integrity, and it pays off.

Compared to Hulu's The Idaho College Murders, this is simply in another league. Where Hulu went for spectacle, Amazon's production focused on substance. Where Hulu leaned into conspiracy and performative drama, One Night in Idaho treated its subjects with decency and clarity. And that's why this series works-even if it isn't flawless, it's guided by the right instincts.

In the end, I give One Night in Idaho: The College Murders a strong 7 out of 10. It's not a game-changer in the true crime world, but it's one of the more thoughtful and well-executed entries we've seen in recent years. It treats its victims as people, not props. It asks smart questions. And it never forgets what this case is really about-not the killer's ego, but the lives that were taken.

It's important to keep in mind that when this was being filmed, there was still a gag order in place, so there were (and still are) many questions that remain unanswered.

As the events following the murders unfolded, I was absolutely sickened, disgusted, and ultimately angered by alot of what I saw and read. The speculation coming from people who knew NOTHING and just indulged with accusations and theories was staggering and so hurtful and destructive. The mainstream media, and especially the quasi professional YouTube channels weren't much better.

It's why I think this series was so well done. It didn't fixate on what wasn't known or on gory details and, I think most importantly, it didn't focus on Bryan Kohberger. Instead, it delivered an insightful and poignant portrait of Maddie, Kaylee, Ethan, and Xana; of their circle of friends, their families, and the community they were part of. And, most importantly, it refused to give Kohberger the attention one can only assume he desperately desires.

The difference in perspective offered by all those immediately affected by this tragedy was very well done and was thought provoking.

I was most struck by Ethan's family. It's very hard to capture the bond shared by siblings, especially by twins and, in the case of the Chapins, triplets. I was left absolutely in awe of Stacy Chapin. What a remarkable woman! The interviews with the Chapin family and Maddie's parents (Karen and Scott Laramie) were nothing short of heartbreaking.

The one thing that I found very odd about the series, though, was the absence of the Goncalves family. They were so outspoken, often not in a good way, from the very beginning this tragedy. I cannot and will not criticize their statements over the last 2 1/2 years. More often than not, their grief was masked by rage and I suppose their desire for vengence, especially given the brutality of these crimes, is understandable. But the fact that they seemed to play no part in the production resulted in almost nothing regarding Kaylee. I think she deserved more.