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James Patterson To Write Book About The University Of Idaho Murders—Just Months After Incident

05/20/2023
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Topline

Best-selling novelist James Patterson and investigative journalist Vicky Ward will reportedly team up to write a nonfiction book about the murder of four University of Idaho students last November—which shocked the nation and led to a massive manhunt for the suspected killer—that will likely also be optioned for a docuseries.

Key Facts

The book will tell the story of the four murders drawing “from dozens of exclusive interviews, extensive on-the-ground reporting,” court transcripts and attendance at suspect Bryan Kohberger’s trial, multiple outlets reported.

The book doesn’t have a title or release date yet and will be published by Little Brown and Company, Patterson’s usual publisher.

Skydance Television is planning to option the rights to the book for a docuseries based on Patterson and Ward’s investigation, Deadline reported.

Patterson said he’s “as caught up in” the murders as anyone else and sees telling the story as “a compelling challenge” that he and Ward are “eager to investigate further”— Deadline reported that Patterson said he hasn’t been haunted by a story like this since he wrote Filthy Rich about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes in 2016.

Key Background

On November 13, 2022, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen—all students at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho—were stabbed to death in an off-campus home. The murders sent shockwaves through the college town that reverberated around the country as police struggled to identify a suspect or motive, leading some students to not return to campus to finish the semester. More than a month after the murders, Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D. student in the University of Washington’s criminal justice program, was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary for allegedly breaking into the home and killing the students. The motive for the killings remains unknown.

News Peg

Kohberger was indicted by an Idaho grand jury earlier this week. Prosecutors were not expected to take the case before a grand jury, but the panel’s indictment allows them to cancel the preliminary hearing that was scheduled for late June. The indictment paves the way for Kohberger’s highly anticipated trial; he is expected to appear in court Monday for his arraignment and to enter his plea.

Further Reading

James Patterson & Vicky Ward Team On Book About Idaho Student Murders; Skydance TV To Option Rights For Television (Deadline)

Novelist James Patterson, journalist Vicky Ward plan book on killing of Idaho college students (AP)

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/05/19/james-patterson-to-write-book-about-the-university-of-idaho-murders-just-months-after-incident/