FILE 366 / 25 February 2023 / 68 MIN / express

Insane In The Brain

Moscow, IdahoListen

The town

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We're going way up north there, going to Moscow, Idaho. It's in northwestern Idaho on the Washington border there. about 0:03:25

History, in brief

Town note

The area was settled in the late 1860s and early 1870s by miners and farmers arriving from the east.

about 0:04:47

Town note

It was known as hog heaven because camas bulbs grew there and pigs would eat them.

about 0:05:36

Town note

The town was called Paradise Valley at that point.

about 0:05:43
All 7 history facts

Town note

The area was settled in the late 1860s and early 1870s by miners and farmers arriving from the east.

about 0:04:47

Town note

It was known as hog heaven because camas bulbs grew there and pigs would eat them.

about 0:05:36

Town note

The town was called Paradise Valley at that point.

about 0:05:43

Town note

The name was changed to Moscow three years later.

about 0:05:46

Town note

One legend says a Russian settler wanted the town named Moscow.

about 0:05:57

Town note

Another says five local men could not agree on a name, so the postmaster, who came from Moscow, Pennsylvania, completed the papers and chose it himself.

about 0:06:06

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$368,300
Median household income$35,979
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"26,128"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:03:41

College students' income

"under 15 grand a year"

Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:03:52

Median household income

"$35,979"

Comparison: "low". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:03:49

Median home cost

"$368,300"

Comparison: "very high". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:03:56

The reviews

3.0 / 5 · average of 5

5 stars

“The small college town is welcoming and friendly, probably the most hospitable town the reviewer has lived in, with wonderful weather for walking.”
about 0:06:30

3 stars

“Born and raised there, it kept the reviewer doing great things; great people and a good organisation that pushes you, plus a lot of undercover fun people.”
about 0:07:10

3 stars

“No personal issues, but the reviewer has heard rumours about the area and gives no explanation of what they are.”
about 0:07:49

3 stars

“The police are not willing to put the work in to keep things safe and seem only to write traffic tickets.”
about 0:08:04

1 star

“After living in urban areas all their life, the place is like going back 30 years, with children playing outdoors and people watching out for each other, though there are bike thefts and car prowls; 147 agree and 230 disagree.”
about 0:08:19

In Idaho

Closest episodes

  1. A Messy Murder PlotKendrick, Idaho · 26 July 201729 km / 18 miShow on map
  2. Incurably Crazy KillerLewiston, Idaho · 21 December 202438 km / 24 miShow on map
  3. The Zombie Apocalypse Has BegunCoeur d'Alene, Idaho · 4 August 2022109 km / 68 miShow on map
  4. Family Murder TreePost Falls, Idaho · 24 July 2026111 km / 69 miShow on map
  5. Talkative Serial KillerKellogg, Idaho · 15 May 2025111 km / 69 miShow on map

The story

He was thought to be a paranoid schizophrenic, with symptoms from the age of 16, and came to believe that children in the area were stealing his energy and his aura.

His best friend was David Boss, whom he met in kindergarten after the s moved from California. Boss graduated from Timberline High School in 2003, played lacrosse, had a campus radio show at the University of Idaho and was widely liked.

Worse followed in 2005. He was cited for disturbing the peace after threatening residents of the Wallace Complex dorms at the University of Idaho and was removed from campus. In June he ran over a 13-year-old boy with his motorcycle, and the boy's brothers pulled him off the bike and beat him. In August 2006 he posted a message titled Demon Possession on a Christian recovery website, describing himself as the Sun King, his energy being stolen and a possible vampire cult.

On 20 March he turned up in Tucson, Arizona, having tracked down Jacob Thompson, a high school acquaintance he had not seen in years. Thompson went outside to move his truck because a man on a bicycle asked him to, and the man shot him five times through the driver's window. Thompson was hit three times, including a bullet that entered his face and lodged in the back of his head, and survived.

At 12.12 a.m. on 31 March he telephoned Boss at his apartment in Moscow and was invited over. Boss's roommate found him at about 12.30 a.m., shot twice in the head, once in the left temple from six to eight inches and once at the base of the skull from about an inch. On 2 April Bradley Morse, a Boise State computer science student from Meridian, a Mormon elder who had served a mission in West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia, finished his custodial shift at the Boise Parks and Recreation building at 9.31 p.m. and was shot twice in the head outside.

The car held blood on a jacket and the floorboard, the revolver with three live rounds and two spent casings, a box of hollow-point ammunition with ten rounds missing, a camera, the airline receipt and the gun's bill of sale. A list of seven names was found; the first three had been attacked.

Idaho abolished the insanity defence in 1982, one of only four states to do so.

The case

Murders of David Boss and Bradley Morse

Victims

David Boss. best friend since kindergarten; Timberline High School graduate, lacrosse player and University of Idaho student with a campus radio show
Bradley Morse. Born in 1982; grew up in Meridian, Idaho; Boise State computer science student, Mormon elder and former missionary

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 25 February 2023.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Jacob Thompson. high school acquaintance, shot five times in Tucson and survived; later identified in a lineup
Matt Meyer. high school acquaintance attacked with a steering wheel club in 2003; later contacted police with tips
Daniel Velasquez. childhood friend
Peggy Thompson. neighbour and former elementary school teacher
Sweeney. neighbour who reported the stalking and chased down the street

The timeline

  1. 1982 Bradley Morse is born.about 0:37:44
  2. at 16 begins showing symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.about 0:13:19
  3. 2003 attacks Matt Meyer and his friend with a steering wheel club outside the grocery store, shattering the car windows and shouting that he will kill them. (Albertsons grocery store)about 0:17:21
  4. 2003 and David Boss graduate from Timberline High School. (Timberline High School)about 0:21:15
  5. 2004 Boss goes to college and the two have less contact.about 0:23:09
  6. March 2005 reports that he has been the victim of an assault; the case produces no leads.about 0:23:45
  7. June 2005 runs over a 13-year-old boy with his motorcycle near the pool; the boy's brothers pull him off the bike and beat him. (Ivy Wild Pool)about 0:25:11
  8. August 2006 posts a message titled Demon Possession on the National Association for Christian Recovery website.about 0:26:42
  9. Christmas 2006 visits Boss in Boise; Boss is left worried by his irrational and delusional talk.about 0:23:16
  10. March 20, 2007 arrives in Tucson, Arizona, partway through a 6,500-mile journey.about 0:33:01
  11. March 20, 2007 shoots Jacob Thompson five times through the window of his truck, hitting him three times; Thompson survives. (Thompson house)about 0:34:16
  12. March 26, 2007 A Southwest Airlines ticket receipt shows flying from Sacramento to Boise.about 0:45:11
  13. between March 26 and 28, 2007 buys a .38 caliber handgun in Boise.about 0:35:04
  14. March 31, 2007 At 12:12 a.m. calls Boss at his Moscow apartment and is invited over. (Boss apartment)about 0:35:40
  15. March 31, 2007 At about 12:30 a.m. Boss's roommate finds him shot twice in the head. (Boss apartment)about 0:36:12
  16. April 2, 2007 At 9:31 p.m. Bradley Morse finishes his custodial shift at the Parks and Recreation building and is shot twice in the head outside. (Parks and Recreation building)about 0:39:37

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode