Four slain students, a weeks-long manhunt but no motive – Everything we know about the Idaho murders
The murder of four college students rocked the quiet town of Moscow, Idaho, and led to the arrest of prime suspect Bryan Kohberger.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – all students at the University of Idaho – were ambushed in their rooms and stabbed to death with a military-style knife that has yet to be found. Police were called to the gruesome scene at the off-campus residence almost eight hours after the vicious attack.
For weeks, only scant details about the carnage were revealed as the community reeled from the tragedy and grappled with fears of a murderer on the loose. That changed with the December 2022 arrest of Washington State University student Mr Kohberger, whose apartment, office and family home were raided and searched for evidence.
A grand jury indicted Kohberger on four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary charge, effectively rerouting the case directly to the state’s felony court level and allowing prosecutors to skip the preliminary hearing process.
A trial was initially set for October 2023 but was postponed when Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial.
After over two and a half years, Kohberger’s trial was scheduled to start on August 18. But now, Kohberger is expected to take a plea deal, according to several reports.
NewsNation’s Brian Entin reported Monday, citing unnamed sources, that the prosecution had proposed dropping the death penalty in exchange for Kohberger pleading guilty to the four murders and serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Kohberger will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and waives all right to appeal, per ABC News.
Here, The Independent takes a deep dive into the developments in the complex case:
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in the young women’s rental home on King Road in Moscow on November 13, 2022. Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, was staying at the residence, which is just a few minutes walk from campus, on the night of the murders.
According to an affidavit for Kohberger’s arrest, the killings are believed to have taken place around 4 am.
Among the revelations in the 18-page document is that Kohberger’s DNA was found on a knife sheath that he left behind at the crime scene. The tan leather Kabar sheath, which featured the Marine Corps symbol, was discovered on Mogen’s bed next to her body.
At the time of the quadruple homicide, the two other roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortenson, were inside the home, but were left unharmed. The police report reveals that Mortenson came face to face with the masked killer.
According to Mortenson’s terrifying account, she had gone to sleep in her bedroom on the second floor of the three-floor home and was woken by what sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog in one of the third-floor bedrooms.
