Baby named after murdered University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen
Three months after four University of Idaho students were murdered in a house near their campus, two of the students are being honored in a unique way.
Goncalves's sister, Alivea Goncalves, paid tribute to her late sister, naming her newborn daughter Theodora MaddieKay Stevenson. The baby's middle name is a combination of Kaylee Goncalves' first name and the first name of her lifelong best friend and roommate, the late Madison Mogen, who was also killed.
Kristi Goncalves, the mother of Kaylee and Alivea Goncalves, told ABC News that Alivea Goncalves and her partner Robbie Stevenson welcomed their daughter, who weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces at birth, on the morning of Feb. 24.
Kaylee Goncalves and Mogen, both 21, and their housemate Xana Kernodle, as well as Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin, both 20, were fatally stabbed at their off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home on Nov. 13, 2022. A 28-year-old man was later arrested on Dec. 30 and charged on four counts of murder in the first degree and felony burglary in connection with the case.
Since the students' murders, the Goncalves and Mogen families have remained close. They came together for a joint celebration of life for the two best friends on Dec. 30, an event Kristi Goncalves said would be one of her "happy memories."
"They had really positive, good lives, and that's the message we want," Steve Goncalves said at the time.
One of the students' two surviving housemates also shared a tribute to Kaylee Goncalves and Mogen in December, describing them as an "inseparable duo."
"Maddie and Kaylee were like second moms to me" and "changed the way I look at life," the second surviving roommate said.
The University of Idaho announced on Friday that the four students' Moscow rental home, which is across the street from campus, will be demolished. Scott Green, the university president, said in a statement that it was "a healing step" for the local community.
"We are evaluating options where students may be involved in the future development of the property," Green added.
