Mordjagt på TikTok (The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok)

What is the series about?

Mordjagt på TikTok — broadcast on DRTV as the Danish-localized version of the BBC Three documentary *The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok* — is a feature-length true-crime documentary that covers the University of Idaho quadruple homicide of November 2022 and the extraordinary social media phenomenon that erupted in its wake. Presenter and filmmaker Zara McDermott investigates how the murders of four young students became one of the most-discussed cases in TikTok history, drawing nearly two billion views and spawning an army of self-appointed internet detectives whose activity both fascinated and horrified observers.

The documentary does not merely recount the crime itself. Its central argument is that the rise of TikTok true crime represents a new and troubling chapter in public engagement with criminal investigations — one in which speed, spectacle, and algorithmic reward structures routinely overtake accuracy, empathy, and the presumption of innocence.

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The Case

In the early hours of 13 November 2022, four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death inside their off-campus rental house in the small college town of Moscow, Idaho. The victims were Ethan Chapin (20), Kaylee Goncalves (21), Xana Kernodle (20), and Madison Mogen (21). Two other housemates were present in the residence that night and survived, reportedly without awareness of the killings until the following afternoon.

The case immediately drew national and international attention. Law enforcement confirmed that the murders appeared to be targeted rather than random, but for weeks released few details — a communication vacuum that TikTok's true-crime ecosystem rushed to fill. According to Rolling Stone and other outlets, the Idaho murders became the defining TikTok true-crime event of 2022 and 2023, with creators posting hourly updates, mock reconstructions, and sweeping accusations against individuals with no connection to the crime. Survivors, the victims' friends, and random local residents were subjected to harassment campaigns based on viral speculation.

Approximately six weeks after the killings, on 30 December 2022, police arrested Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University. His arrest followed intensive forensic work, including DNA evidence and cell-phone data analysis. Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.

As of the documentary's 2024 release window, Kohberger's legal proceedings were still ongoing, and no final verdict or sentence had been publicly confirmed. The case remains pending.

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Production

The documentary is presented and co-produced by Zara McDermott, a British television personality and filmmaker who had previously explored online culture and its darker dimensions in other BBC projects. McDermott's approach situates the Idaho murders within a broader cultural critique of TikTok true crime as a genre — asking whether amateur online investigators help or hinder real police work, and what damage is done to innocent people caught in the crossfire of viral accusations.

The film draws on interviews, social media footage, and journalistic reporting to reconstruct both the night of the killings and the months of chaotic online activity that followed. The DRTV version, titled Mordjagt på TikTok (literally "Murder Hunt on TikTok"), is the Danish-language localized broadcast of the same production, making it accessible to Scandinavian audiences who had followed the case through international media.

A YouTube trailer released ahead of the documentary's premiere offers a compressed overview of the film's dual focus: the forensic reality of the investigation and the performative chaos of the TikTok response.

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Reception

Reception for The Idaho Murders: Trial by TikTok was mixed. Critics broadly acknowledged the timeliness and cultural relevance of the subject matter — the intersection of Gen Z media habits, algorithmic incentives, and high-profile violent crime is a genuinely important topic — but several reviewers found the execution uneven.

The i newspaper's review highlighted the documentary's focus on the case's virality, noting both critical interest and concern about the format itself. Some commentators described the broader TikTok true-crime documentary trend as occasionally bizarre, repetitive, or superficial, suggesting that films in this subgenre sometimes replicate the very sensationalism they claim to critique. The Wikipedia entry for *TikTok: Murder Gone Viral*, a related title in the same content space, offers useful context for how this wave of platform-focused true-crime documentaries has been received.

A significant controversy attached to the documentary's subject matter — not its production — concerns the real-world harm caused by the online investigation it chronicles. False accusations spread rapidly across TikTok, targeting people who had nothing to do with the murders. Critics of the format argue that documentaries celebrating or even critically engaging with this phenomenon risk amplifying it further.

The film's IMDb listing (ID: tt33083233) does not yet carry a verified public rating based on available data at time of publication.

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The Case Today

As of 2024–2025, the legal proceedings against Bryan Kohberger remain one of the most closely watched criminal cases in the United States. The case has been notable for repeated delays, pre-trial motions, and intense media scrutiny. Kohberger's defense team has challenged the admissibility of key forensic evidence, and the trial has not yet concluded.

The four victims — Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen — have been memorialized by their families, the University of Idaho community, and supporters across the country. Their families have been vocal about the additional pain caused by the online speculation and false accusations that proliferated in the months following their deaths.

For Danish viewers encountering the case through Mordjagt på TikTok on DRTV, the documentary serves as both a true-crime account and a media-literacy document — a portrait of what happens when one of America's most confusing and grief-laden criminal investigations collides with the attention economy of social media.