Closed · 2022-2026

Murders in Moscow: The Plea

DO NOT RETELL THE MURDERS. This is a follow-up for listeners who already heard the 2025 episode. Chapter 1 and ONLY chapter 1 recaps November 13 2022 in a few sentences: the King Road house, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, the two surviving roommates, the knife-sheath DNA, the arrest. Chapters 2 through 12 cover ONLY what happened after the arrest and must not revisit the night of the murders: the capital case and the death-penalty filing, the defence motions and the DNA and cell-site fights, the June 30 2025 plea agreement, the July 2 2025 guilty plea to all five counts with appeals waived, the victim impact statements, the July 23 2025 sentencing to four consecutive life terms plus ten years, the gag order and released case files, and the July 2026 motion to withdraw the plea claiming ineffective counsel and coercion. He pleaded guilty and is serving life; he has moved to withdraw that plea and the court has not ruled.