New Idaho murder photos lay bare the humiliating truth about arrogant Bryan Kohberger’s pathetic attempt to plot ‘the perfect crime’
It was supposed to be the perfect crime.
Bryan Kohberger, a then-27-year-old loner and criminology PhD, made his living studying crime scenes – and how killers get away with murder.
In the early hours of November 13, 2022, he slipped through the back door of an off-campus student house in Moscow, Idaho. Armed with a knife and wearing a mask, he butchered four University of Idaho students in their beds.
But then the plan collapsed.
Kohberger, now 31, left behind crucial evidence which ultimately led to his conviction last July and can now be revealed for the first time in new photographs obtained by the Daily Mail.
Nearly 3,000 previously unseen crime scene images were quietly uploaded online by Idaho State Police on Tuesday before being quickly taken down. The Daily Mail downloaded the files in full before they vanished.
On Wednesday, we published more than a dozen photos, including heartbreaking shots from inside the bedrooms of victims Madison ‘Maddie’ Mogen and Xana Kernodle, who were age 21 and 20.
Blood can been seen soaked into bedding – sheets, comforters and pillows – and smeared across walls, furniture, rugs and personal belongings such as cellphones and laptops. There are signs of struggle, suggesting desperate attempts by the victims to defend themselves.
The Daily Mail has chosen not to publish the most graphic images.
Now, in a new batch of photographs, we can reveal two of Kohberger’s catastrophic mistakes. The most damning: a knife sheath left behind at the scene.
Several images show the 13-inch tan leather sheath lying amid blood-soaked bedsheets in Mogen’s bedroom.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Clockwise from left: Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison ‘Maddie’ Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were killed in their Moscow, Idaho, home by Bryan Kohberger in 2022
For the first time, new photos show the leather knife sheath Kohberger left behind
The sheath, seen here between the sheets in Mogen’s bloodstained bed, was crucial in snaring the killer
The leather sheath was from a knife set the killer had purchased months before the crime
Investigators believe it may have been dropped in a moment of panic – possibly when Kohberger was confronted by Kernodle, who was awake on the floor below Mogen’s room and may have headed upstairs after hearing commotion.
Leaving it behind was a massive error: forensic teams used it to recover a trace of DNA. Using genetic genealogy, investigators then built a family tree that ultimately pointed to Kohberger.
Other new images show appear to show his second crucial mistake: large footprints stamped into the snow outside the now-demolished home at 1122 King Road.
The prints lead straight to the property’s rear sliding-glass doors and were consistent with a size 13 shoe – the same size as a pair of Nike’s later seized from Kohberger’s family home.
Another image shows footprints made visible by a chemical mix – used by police to detect blood – inside 1122 King Road.
And there are photos, too, that speak to the sheer brutality that unfolded.
One picture captures a tiny bloodstain above the door frame to Mogen’s bedroom – nearly seven feet above the floor and a likely indicator of the force used by Kohberger.
Detectives took photos of large footprints in the snow outside the student house
Though not as important as the knife sheath, footprints were among the evidence used by prosecutors
Large footprints are also seen here in a chemical mix used by police to detect blood. The matching of footprints was key in snaring Kohberger
The chemical mix used to show blood that is not visible to the naked eye can be seen in one of the bedrooms
Kohberger is thought to have entered the home through an unlocked rear sliding door shortly after 4am. He went straight to the third floor, where best friends Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were asleep together in Mogen’s bed after a night out.
While they were being attacked, Kernodle was still awake on the second floor. She had just received a DoorDash delivery and brought the food into the kitchen.
Investigators theorize she may have heard something upstairs. Something wrong.
They believe Kernodle moved toward the sound and that a startled Kohberger, who then fled Mogen’s room in a hurry, leaving the sheath behind. The murder weapon, believed to be a Ka-Bar hunting knife, has never been found.
What is known for certain is that Kernodle was then followed back to her bedroom, where she was stabbed more than 50 times. Her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, was also fatally stabbed as he lay in her bed.
Kohberger had no known connection to any of his victims – nor has he ever revealed a motive.
But investigators believe he planned out the killings meticulously.
He’d been stalking the area in the weeks prior to his attack, visiting more than 20 times, most often under the cover of darkness, his cell phone records show.
To avoid being identified on the night of the slayings, he dressed in all-black and wore a mask. He had switched off his phone.
After the murders, he thoroughly scrubbed his white Hyundai Elantra and cleaned his apartment in an apparent bid to conceal any evidence.
But these new photographs show how his fantasy of committing the perfect crime and getting away with it came undone.
Photos taken from outside Mogen’s room show what looks like any ordinary student bedroom – only the blood-stained sheets hint at the heinous crime that took place
A small droplet of blood at the top of Mogen’s door frame hints at how brutal the attack was
The speck reached nearly seven feet, the images suggest
The Idaho State Police said it recognizes the pain felt by victims’ families but maintained that the release complied with Idaho public records laws and existing court rulings.
But the ISP said it had taken the images down after receiving several complaints that some photos showed victims’ hair or other body parts.
Officials said they were reviewing the photos and planned to release them again soon.
Kohberger, who studied at Washington State University just miles away, pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to four counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to four life terms plus ten years.
In court, he showed little to no emotion as the victims’ families tore into him. He has never revealed a motive and has refused to say where the knife is.
He will spend the rest of his life at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. Guards there have already reportedly branded him a ‘diva’ inmate.
Since his sentencing, he has been held in isolation, locked in his cell for 23 hours a day with just one hour for exercise.
It is unclear how often he has visitors. His parents, Michael and Maryann, live in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. He has two older sisters, Amanda and Melissa.
A small bloodstain on the banister of the stairway that Kohberger passed through on the gruesome night
Best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen
Kohberger went to great lengths to conceal his identity, wearing a mask and masking his internet and phone trail
Melissa, 34, told the New York Times this month that while the family fully accepts the gravity and evil of his crimes, they continue to speak to him. She said he had a happy childhood and was close to his immediate family.
She also admitted to drawing a black heart sketch that Kohberger kept with him during his trial – later branded ‘creepy’ by online sleuths.
Reacting to the newly leaked photos, the Goncalves family publicly urged empathy and restraint.
‘Please be kind and, as difficult as it is, place yourself outside of yourself and consume the content as if it were your loved one,’ they said.
