‘I just wanted to go home’

MOSCOW — Nearing midnight in mid-November in Alicante, Spain, Alejandra Alvizo saw the text that shook the small college town of Moscow.

Immediately, she felt pangs of fear and concern.

“This was the first time I wanted to go home,” said Alvizo, a University of Idaho student who was spending a semester studying Spanish in Spain. “I wanted to hug friends and everybody I knew.”

She said that in those moments of feeling “shocked,” she said it also felt “wrong” being in a class far from friends and from home in the wake of four UI students being murdered at an off-campus residence Nov. 13.

“This was truly when I felt the Vandal community hit, even though we were miles away,” said Alvizo said, an Idaho native.

Now, being back in Moscow after being gone for four months, she feels a sense of “eeriness.”

“It’s sad. It feels different,” Alvizo said. “Now, I’m just hyperaware and paying attention to people and their behaviors. I can’t just walk home anymore like I used to.”

Emily Lizarraga, a student at UI, was heading from Paris to Rome around the time of the murders. She received the text pertaining to the homicides and was already going through a wave of emotions.

“I had lost my flight from Paris to Rome, Italy — where I was studying abroad and was already going through a lot of emotions being stuck in a different country,” Lizarraga said. “So when I received a message about a homicide, I immediately texted my teacher about not only missing my flight but also what was going on at the U of I campus.”

She acknowledges and respects the officers who are in charge of this case but believes if it had taken any longer to apprehend a suspect, “that would be a great concern,” especially for returning students.

Lizarraga also said that most architecture students stay on campus past midnight and mentions she’s sometimes walked home from campus anywhere between 2 and 5 a.m.

Now, she said if she walks home that late, she hopes carrying a self-defense weapon will help keep her somewhat safe.

“I’ve had my car broken into and even someone forcing themselves into my bedroom door, which I still don’t know who did it,” Lizarraga said. “I can’t let those things slide this semester, especially when my life could be at risk.”

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested Dec. 30 at his parents’ home in Chestnuthill Township, Pa., on four counts of first-degree murder, in addition to a felony burglary charge. The Washington State University Ph.D. candidate and Pullman resident will next be in Latah County Court on Thursday for a status hearing.

Carrillo-Casas can be contacted at mcarrillo@dnews.com.