In November, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence at 1122 King Street.
Samantha Nelson, who was born Samantha Goncalves, according to her video, made a video on TikTok calling for greater sensitivity when online personalities discuss the ongoing investigation.
The video, which was first posted on TikTok five days ago, has now started circulating on Twitter.
She started the video by explaining that victim Kaylee Goncalves was her half-sister and the pair shared a father.
She said: “You really have to be careful about your wording and your comments section and what you are posting.
“Your interactions with the media, the internet, affects everybody who can see it, it is everywhere you can’t escape it right now.
“Me especially, I can’t even open my phone without it popping up everywhere I go.
“Some of the content is really … for one it is false and for two it is cruel and it is being used as a catalyst to gain followers, to be clickbait, basically profiting from a lot of people’s grief.
“If I could share one thing, if I could ask one thing of TikTok when it comes to the Idaho murders it is that you really need to realize that these are actual human beings that have family and have history and have a huge impact on other people’s lives.
“When you post something that isn’t genuine, that isn’t sincere that doesn’t have a positive intention it does affect others that see your content, myself especially.”
“It is haunting me, I have gone on here and tried to share my story, my take on things and just process aloud and use this as a means to find community and I do think bringing awareness to this is critical.”
While some social media users were supportive of the emotional video, others were more skeptical of the claims made by the half-sister.
A screenshot of an alleged comment left by Kaylee Goncalves’ other sister, Alivea Stevenson, has also begun to circulate. In the comment, Stevenson appears to be dismissing Sam’s closeness to the Goncalves family.
She also dismissed the TikTok pages that Sam promoted in a second video about the Idaho murders.
The screenshot read: “Linda Gidwitz Karamitis, unfortunately. Sam is my dad’s child biologically.
“Though they’ve never met. Sam also never met Kaylee, even once. It’s a sad truth honestly.
“But the truth. She definitely was not a sister to Kaylee nor Maddie & knows nothing about her or her life at all.
“Even the TikToks she is promoting do not support the views of the Goncalves family.
“I only ask that those things are considered when viewing content of hers.”
Newsweek has contacted the Moscow Police Department for comment.
