Murder In Moscow: Morgan Wallen And The Chapin Family

Country music star Morgan Wallen had given the family of University of Idaho murder victim Ethan Chapin free tickets to his July 2023 concert in San Diego after learning about the emotional connection Ethan and his mother, Stacy Chapin, had shared through Wallen’s music. Before Ethan was killed, he had sent his mother Wallen’s song “Thought You Should Know,” which Wallen had written as a tribute to his own mother, and told Stacy that the song could represent their relationship as well. After Ethan’s death, Stacy had spoken publicly about the significance the song continued to hold for her. Wallen eventually learned about the story and arranged for Stacy, her husband Jim, Ethan’s surviving triplet siblings Maizie and Hunter, and other family members and friends to attend his sold-out show at Petco Park. Wallen met the Chapins before the concert, and his mother, Lesli Wallen, had also traveled to San Diego to meet them.

Stacy had described the experience as an emotional and bittersweet full-circle moment, particularly because Wallen performed the song that had become so closely associated with Ethan. The gesture went beyond concert tickets and a backstage meeting, however, as Wallen also presented the family with a donation to the Ethan’s Smile Foundation, the nonprofit the Chapins had established in their son’s memory. The foundation had focused on providing scholarships and educational opportunities to students in Washington’s Skagit Valley, including students attending the University of Idaho. Stacy said Wallen’s generosity had been one of the kindest gestures she had experienced, while acknowledging the painful reality that the extraordinary encounter had only happened because of the devastating loss of her son. Ethan had been killed alongside Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at an off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home in November 2022.


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