One of the best parts about living in Idaho is the fact that our state doesn’t see a lot of crime. Idahoans sleep easy at night knowing that they reside in relatively safe communities where crimes like murder don’t usually happen. However, more than 50 years ago, tragedy struck the small college town of Moscow (long before the Idaho Four murders in 2022) when a young woman was murdered in cold blood. Although it remains unsolved, Moscow residents remember the crime clearly. Anyone curious about the 2022 holiday murders in Idaho (namely in Moscow) ought to learn about this one first. The young lady at the center of this story was also a University of Idaho student.

Moscow, Idaho is probably most well-known as a college town. Idaho's oldest public college, the University of Idaho, resides here and is the focal point of the town.
Jasper Nance/Flickr
Currently, Moscow has a population of over 23,000 residents. This charming town is characteristically frigid cold during the winter months. During winter, Moscow can see up to 15 inches of snowfall. The quaint town takes on the look of a snowy wonderland during this time of year.
It was during the holiday season that one of Moscow's grisliest murders took place. On the night of December 28, 1969, Janice Foiles was brutally murdered at her workplace.
Steve Shook/Flickr
The crime shook the town to its core. At this point, Moscow was only home to approximately 11,000 residents. Murders simply didn't happen here and the community wasn't prepared for such a horrendous crime. Detectives were never able to pin the murder on anybody, but the terrible event is still talked about to this day.
Janice Foiles was an 18-year-old student at the University of Idaho. Along with being a college student, she worked as a waitress at the Tip Top Cafe on the corner of Jefferson and 3rd Street.
Google Street View
The town was quiet the night Janice was murdered. Most university students had gone home on the holiday break so that night at work was probably slow for Janice. The cafe was your typical small-town diner. It is believed that Janice was bludgeoned to death with a claw hammer sometime after the cafe closed on that horrid Sunday evening. The Tip Top Cafe closed long ago, but the building is still used today as a hair salon and a lock shop.

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Detectives don't believe the murder was a robbery gone wrong. Certain aspects of the murder point to this being a crime of passion.
UI 125th Celebration/Flickr
Detectives interviewed numerous people including a number of ex-boyfriends who may have had a motive. However, none of these people struck detectives as the murderer. The murder weapon originally belonged to the cafe, but it was never recovered after the night of the 28th. The case remains unsolved, but it is not considered closed.
Janice was described as a quiet teenager. She was a part of her high school's French and Pep Clubs. Her life was only just beginning at the time of her murder.
Kay Keskinen/findagrave
The tragedy of Janice's murder left a grim stain on Moscow. The act of a community member killing another in cold blood was unheard of. And the fact that the victim of this crime was a young woman who was only just beginning college made it especially tragic.
As the 48th anniversary of Janice's murder approaches, the town of Moscow can't help but remember the dreadful event that took place at the Tip Top Cafe.
Jasper Nance/Flickr
Detectives will keep Janice's case open until the murderer is finally found. It may have happened decades ago, but the hope for justice and Janice's memory lives on.

Did you know of this murder that took place in Moscow? Idaho is a great place to live, but the occasional gruesome crime does occur. Have you heard the story of this serial killer who terrorized a small Idaho town?

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Holiday Murders in Idaho

Tori Jane | November 11, 2023

When were the holiday murders in Idaho?  

Interestingly – or perhaps tragically – there are now at least two instances of holiday murders in Idaho. A couple of the more notable ones include terrifying cases like:  

  • The murder of Janice Foiles – In December of 1969, Janice Foiles, a lovely young local woman, was found beaten to death at her workplace. To this day, it remains one of Idaho’s eeriest cold cases.  
  • The Moscow murders – Janice Foiles’s murder is unfortunately not the only brutal murder that the town of Moscow has seen. In November of 2022, four University of Idaho students were viciously killed in their own home. The case gained national attention.  

Unfortunately, nowhere is 100% safe or immune from violence – even small towns in Idaho can experience this kind of trauma more than once. Interested in more Idaho true crime? Read all about the chilling tale of Idaho’s “Jack the Ripper”.  

What happened during the Janice Foiles murder?  

Three days after Christmas on December 28th, 1969, 18-year-old Janice Foiles was closing up shop at work. It’s believed that she let someone into the store, as the doors had been locked, hinting that she might have known her attacker. She never came home, prompting her father and brother to go looking for her. The scene they found was unforgettably traumatic: Janice had been bludgeoned with a hammer, viciously, indicating that it might have been a crime of passion. Unfortunately, the assailant has never been found or identified.  

What are some other notorious tales of true crime in Idaho?  

Idaho is in no way immune to crime and criminals, including some very high-profile cases that put small Idaho towns on the map for the worst reasons. Other notorious tales of true crime in Idaho are crimes including:  

  • The murder of Angie Dodge occurred in Idaho Falls on June 13th, 1996.  
  • The Great Basin Murders was a series of homicides that took place between 1983 and 1997. During this time, the bodies of at least nine women were found and a serial killer is believed to have been responsible. The murders spanned across several northwestern states, including Idaho. 
  • The infamous Chad and Lori Daybell murders – A tale so crazy you’ll have to read the book about it later unfolded partly in Idaho, with the bodies of two missing children being found as the closure for a long, bizarre case in which numerous people lost their lives.  

Learn more about dangerous places in Idaho. 

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