University of Idaho murders hit home for KIRO Newsradio journalist
Jul 23, 2025, 5:30 PM
The University of Idaho murders hit close to home for a member of the KIRO Newsradio family.
On November 13, 2022, Scott Carty was in Pullman, which is just seven miles away from the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho.
“I am sharing some perspective of 983 days ago,” Carty said on “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. “It was one of the best weekends of my life, turned into one of the toughest goodbyes I’ve ever had to say to my daughter.”
Carty had just wrapped up parents’ weekend at Washington State University (WSU).
Minutes before the news broke, he spoke with a University of Idaho student who had recently joined the local fire department.
“I told him to keep having fun,” Carty recalled. “And then the moment we got into our cars is when I got an AP news alert, and he got called to the scene.”
News breaks of University of Idaho murders
Carty said he’ll never forget where he was when he heard the news.
“I was right in front of Sella’s Calzones. Anybody who’s been to Pullman knows where that spot is,” he said.
Carty hurried to his daughter Ella’s dorm room, where alerts had begun circulating.
“That’s when my daughter’s mom and I had to say goodbye for our drive back to Seattle, telling Ella to be safe, to stick with friends, and stay in touch,” he shared.
Carty and his daughter had previously toured WSU’s criminology department, walking past Kohberger’s office. Kohberger was a Ph.D. student at the time.
“He would have likely become her TA, and was the TA of one of her friends,” Carty said.
His daughter ultimately chose a different academic path.
“She decided not to go into criminology, despite me saying, ‘Well, it’s probably the most exciting time you could ever be in that program,’” he said.
Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday.
He entered into a plea agreement earlier this month.
“I’ve driven by that house, you know, where the killings happened,” Carty said. “It was way too close to home.”
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
