'Be strong,' Emmy-winning crimefighter tells victims' parents as trial looms
'America's Most Wanted' host John Walsh: 'Help me catch bad guys'
Emmy-Award winning host John Walsh touts results – 1,200 arrests, 61 child rescues – as the series returns to FOX.
John Walsh, the legendary host of "America's Most Wanted" who launched the show after losing his own son to a brutal child kidnapper in 1981, is offering advice to the parents of the four University of Idaho students killed in their off-campus home in November 2022.
"They don't have to do anything," Walsh told Fox News Digital. "They don't have to go to the state capital and change laws. They just have to get through the trial. And when the trial is done … I'm sure that they'll get justice. I truly believe it."
Walsh, speaking to Fox News Digital ahead of the return of "America's Most Wanted" to FOX on Jan. 22, urged the parents of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to "be strong" as prosecutors handle the burden of the case.
"The main thing to do is celebrate the life of that child," Walsh added. "I realize that the six and a half years I had Adam were some of the best of my life."
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Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
WATCH: 'America's Most Wanted' host John Walsh shares message for Idaho students' parents
Walsh has decades of experience as both the father of a murdered child and as an iconic crimefighter whose TV show helped lead police to 1,200 arrests and 61 child rescues.
His family doesn't dwell on the tragedy that took Adam away, he said, they remember and celebrate him.
"It's the worst thing you can imagine, to be the parent of a murdered child," he said. "It's just unbearable. It breaks your heart in half. And you know what? You'll take that to your death. You never forget. There's no such thing as closure."
Bryan Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in advance of his extradition hearing in January 2023. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
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"I pray for them, because they will get through it in honor of their children," he said. "They will persevere and make sure that their children got justice."
Idaho Judge John Judge could set a trial date for Kohberger later this month.
The 29-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student is charged with entering an off-campus rental home in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and stabbing to death four of the six students inside.
Original "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, left, and his son, Callahan, right, will co-host the reboot of the true crime mainstay for the first time since the original show was canceled in 2011 after a historic 24-season run. (Fox News)
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Under Mogen's body, police found a Ka-Bar knife sheath that prosecutors say had Kohberger's DNA on the snap. Investigators also say they linked his car, a white Hyundai Elantra, to the crime scene and that his phone records show he allegedly stalked the victims' home a dozen times before the crime.
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He could face death by firing squad if convicted.
Kohberger is due back in court on Jan. 26. Judge entered not guilty pleas to each of the charges on Kohberger's behalf at his arraignment in May 2023.
Tune-in: "America’s Most Wanted" returns with an all-new season on Monday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
