She slept through an attack that nearly killed her roommate. Now, she’s defending a stranger in the Idaho murders

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo – none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived. Alanna Zabel tells Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events