THE fraternity brothers of University of Idaho murders victim Ethan Chapin have spoken out about the student’s death, sharing heart-wrenching new details one year after the horrific incident.

Four members of the university’s Sigma Chi fraternity chapter explained in a recent conversation that Chapin, 20, was recognized and appreciated by many who knew him.

“I have never met someone who was so universally loved,” fellow fraternity member Kyle Frei explained to Boise NBC affiliate KTVB in a four-part series on the killings.

“Everyone liked him. There was not a person that didn’t like him.”

Frei added: “He was just the happiest person to be around everyone wanted to be around him.”

Chapin was staying at an off-campus rental home in Moscow with his girlfriend, Xana Kernodle, 20, and friends Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, all of whom were stabbed to death by alleged killer Bryan Kohberger in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022.

Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, two other students staying at the home the night of the murders, survived the encounter.

Kohberger is set to face trial soon and remains behind bars at a maximum security cell at Latah County Jail in Moscow.

The news of the killings shocked many across America, but none more than the community at the University of Idaho, the fraternity brothers recalled.

“Right after it happened, it was a mad house in Moscow,” Gus Elwell, the Sigma Chi president, remembered.

“There were news people everywhere, and no one knew what was going on because stuff like that doesn’t really happen in a town like this.”

“As a house, we all banded together,” Elwell continued.

He explained further that many students and members of the fraternity went home after the murders — but it quickly felt like the wrong decision, and those who knew Chapin wanted to be together to share feelings and memories.

“It was hard because a lot of people went home right away after it all happened. Honestly, when I was home, that was not what I needed to be doing. I think a lot of people can agree,” Elwell said.

“I felt way better when I was here with my brothers, rather than being at home. I needed to be around these guys, talking about what I was feeling, talking about Ethan.” 

“This fraternity is very special to me…the brotherhood is there,” he noted.

Elwell added that the freedom to be vulnerable between brothers was key to working through their grief.

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“I think that was a big factor in last year how we handled that as a fraternity, it wasn’t one person handling it, we handled that as a brotherhood,” he said.

Other members, including Joshua Howell, echoed Elwell’s sentiments that the fraternity became a safe space to share thoughts and support each other through the deaths of Chapin and the others.

“All of us knew that no one was going to look down on them for sharing their emotions, or anything like that,” Howell noted.

Howell knew Chapin well and noted him to be “a really great guy.”

“He’s just the coolest guy you’ll ever meet, that’s about it right there,” he said of the 20-year-old.

“Emotionally, always there for people, just a really great guy.”

Sigma Chi member Conrad Harrison lived with Chapin for a short period.

“He was just a really big, happy guy! He was always so kind in anything that he did, and he was also so funny,” Harrison recalled to KTVB.

“I lived with him for a semester and that was really something, he was such a funny guy.”

Members of the fraternity were so impacted by Chapin that in October, they created the first-ever Sigma Chi Ethan Chapin Memorial Scholarship, and awarded it to his triplet brother, Hunter.

Elwell noted that donors from all over the United States raised $125,000 for the scholarship.

“It means a lot that Sigma Chi took the bull by the horns and made this scholarship a thing. The world raised $125,000 for this scholarship through donations, which is absolutely insane,” the fraternity president noted.

“I don’t think there is a better way to honor Ethan. He gave his whole life that day, so let’s keep on giving in the name of Ethan.”

Jeff Burnside, Sigma Chi Director of Development for the Northwest Region, told the outlet that the totality of the money will be distributed through an annual award of $5,000 in perpetuity.

Chapin’s entire family attended the scholarship event, and Hunter reportedly received a standing ovation when he was awarded the honor.

Equipped with blue bracelets that say “Live Life Like Ethan,” the Sigma Chi brothers said they’d carry their brother in their hearts as life moves forward.

“I think the stories of Ethan will go from generation to generation, from pledge class to pledge class,” Elwell said.

“His story will be shared with everyone, and hopefully everyone can live life like Ethan.”

For more on the University of Idaho murders, check out The U.S. Sun’s coverage of why the parents of Kaylee Goncalves say the bid for justice for their daughter is “gutwrenching” a year later.

The U.S. Sun also has the story on the eerie 3D pictures that revealed the horror of the night of the murders as the FBI returns to the off-campus home.