Chilling details revealed in Idaho college murders case — including frantic texts from roommates and new DNA evidence
Chilling new details in connection with the Idaho college murders case have been released, including frantic text messages sent by the roommates who survived — and they reveal a terrifying, chaotic scene at an off-campus house.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, is accused of murdering 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, and 20-year-old Xana Kernodle on Nov. 13, 2022.
Newly unsealed court filings show panic-stricken text messages between Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke — the two survivors of the grisly murders.
Just before 4:30 a.m., Mortensen and Funke were texting each other and were 'freaking out' when their other roommates didn't answer their phones.
The court documents illustrate an updated timeline of the events before and after the horrific slayings of the students from the University of Idaho.
ABC News reported, "One of the two survivors, who were roommates, is shown to have messaged an Uber driver to take them from a bar to the house at 2:10 a.m. At that time, the other surviving roommate was shown to be awake and texting."
Prosecutors said Kernodle received a DoorDash order around 4 a.m.
Funke allegedly told investigators she thought she heard Goncalves playing with her dog around the same time.
"A short time" after, Funke said "she heard someone she thought was Goncalves say something to the effect of 'there's someone here.'"
At 4:17 a.m., a security camera situated less than 50 feet from Kernodle's room picked up sounds of a barking dog and "distorted audio of what sounded like voices or a whimper followed by a loud thud," according to court documents.
Just before 4:30 a.m., Mortensen and Funke were texting each other and were "freaking out" when their other roommates didn't answer their phones.
Court docs show one of the survivors — identified by the initials "D.M." — messaging the other surviving roommate identified as "B.F."
"No one is answering," D.M. told B.F., adding that he is "really confused" right now.
B.F. replied, “Ya dude WTF."
B.F. noted that Kernodle was "wearing all black."
D.M. stressed again that he is "freaking out."
D.M. told B.F. that he thought he saw a man wearing something like a ski mask in the house.
B.F. responded, "STFU."
D.M. and B.F. both admit they are "so freaked out."
According to CNN, "Then, Funke tried to convince Mortensen to go to Funke’s room so they’d be together: 'Run.'"
Funke reportedly opened her door and saw a masked man in black clothing whom she did not recognize walking toward her. She stood in “frozen shock” as he walked past her toward a sliding glass door, according to an affidavit. She then went back to her room and locked the door.
At 10:23 a.m., Mortensen attempted to contact Goncalves and Mogen by text, asking if they are awake, but neither roommate responded.
Approximately an hour later, the surviving roommates called 911 to report that Kernodle was unconscious.
A transcript of the surviving roommates' call to 911 was released on Thursday.
"The transcript shows the chaos as Mortensen and Funke pass the phone between them answering the dispatcher in fragmented responses," CNN said.
The roommates allegedly were breathing heavily and crying throughout the 911 call as they told the dispatcher that Kernodle was unconscious. They reportedly noted that Kernodle came home drunk.
The callers also said they “saw some man in their house last night.”
First responders arrived to find four college students stabbed to death in bedrooms at the home.
Kohberger's attorneys argued that the three different DNA samples discovered under the fingernails of Madison Mogen should disqualify the evidence to be brought to trial.
On Dec. 30, 2022, suspect Bryan Kohberger — a graduate student in criminal justice who lived in Pullman, Washington — was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty after a judge ruled in November 2024 that Kohberger is able to face the death penalty.
Kohberger’s defense reportedly asked a judge to take the death penalty off the table, citing autism spectrum disorder.
The recently unsealed defense motion in the capital murder case cites an evaluation by a neuropsychologist who said Kohberger “continues to exhibit all the core diagnostic features of [autism spectrum disorder] currently, with significant impact on his daily life.”
It's unclear whether Kohberger previously had been diagnosed with ASD.
As Blaze News reported, expert criminal profiler and psychotherapist John Kelly said of Kohberger: "I think he was an incel and really just hated women."
Kohberger's lawyers are also attempting to prohibit the use of phrases such as “murder,” “murder weapon,” “psychopath,” and “bushy eyebrows.” The defense contends that allowing those terms would give the jury prejudice against the defendant.
Also revealed in the newly unsealed court documents is that murder victim Madison Mogen had DNA from three different people under her fingernails.
Kohberger's attorneys argued that those DNA samples should disqualify the evidence from being brought to trial.
"Mr. Kohberger's inconclusive [likelihood ratio] is similar to almost every other person for whom an [likelihood ratio] was generated, and focusing on his ‘inconclusive’ [likelihood ratio] would mislead the jury in that it implies that the [likelihood ratio] means that Mr. Kohberger's DNA might be present in the sample," said Bicka Barlow, a defense attorney who specializes in DNA evidence and who recently was added to Kohberger's defense team.
As Blaze News reported in January 2023, law enforcement found a tan leather knife sheath lying next to Mogen on a bed.
Investigators collected trash from Kohberger's family residence to collect a DNA sample.
"On December 28, 2022, the Idaho State Lab reported that a DNA profile obtained from the trash and the DNA profile obtained from the sheath identified a male as not being excluded as the biological father of the suspect," the affidavit declared. "At least 99.9998% of the male population would be expected to be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect's biological father."
You can watch a KIVI-TV newscast on the latest developments in the Bryan Kohberger case here.
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BREAKING: Police arrest man in connection with brutal killings of four Idaho college students
Police have arrested a man in connection with the brutal murder of four college students in Idaho last month.
Law enforcement sources told WNBC-TV that a 25-year-old man was apprehended in the area of Scranton, Pennsylvania, more than 2,500 miles from where the gruesome crime took place. KHQ-TV, the news station local to the crime, confirmed the arrest, citing sources with family members of the victims and law enforcement.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was arraigned in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, court on Friday, KHQ reported. The charges against him were not released.
The Moscow Police Department has scheduled a press conference for Friday afternoon, presumably to announce the arrest and provide details about the suspect and the charges against him.
Sources, meanwhile, told Fox News the suspect is a college student who does not attend the University of Idaho, where the four murdered students attended. CNN reported that the FBI made the arrest.
What is the background?
The case of the murdered students — 20-year-olds Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle and 21-year-olds Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen — has shocked and mystified the nation.
Police believe the students were attacked in the early morning hours on Nov. 13. They were brutally stabbed to death in a rental home that the three female victims — Xana, Kaylee, and Madison — shared with two other students, who were asleep on a different level of the house at the time of the attack.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have been investigating the incident. But investigators have released few details about the case, which has brought significant attention to the horrific crime.
Police did not disclose prior to Friday any suspects or persons of interest.
Law enforcement most recently said they were searching for a white Hyundai Elantra they believe was near the crime scene on the night of the attack.
New details in case of four Idaho students murdered last month | FOX 13 Seattle www.youtube.com
Family members of University of Idaho murder victims reveal possible entry into off-campus home, coroner offers new details in 'personal' slaughter that happened in bed
New details have emerged about the grisly murder of four college students in Moscow, Idaho. The bodies of the University of Idaho students were found at an off-campus house on Sunday.
Partial autopsy reports were released for the four victims — Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Preliminary information revealed that the four University of Idaho students' time of death was approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, but the first 911 call regarding the victims was not made until noon that day.
The autopsies performed by the Spokane Medical Examiner's Office found that all four college students were stabbed to death with a knife.
Latah County coroner Cathy Mabbutt said the murder weapon "would have been a bigger knife" to be consistent with their "pretty extensive" wounds.
Moscow Building Supply general manager Scott Jutte told the Idaho Statesman that a police officer went to the store multiple times this week to inquire about the possible sale of a KA-BAR brand combat blade.
"They were specifically asking whether or not we carry KA-BAR-style knives, which we do not," Jutte told the paper. "If we did, we could’ve reviewed surveillance footage. But it wasn’t something I could help them with."
Jutte said KA-BAR tactical knives are about six inches long and similar to the one used in the movie "Rambo."
The victims each suffered "multiple" stab wounds, but the coroner did not detail exactly how many times they were stabbed. The coroner did note that the victims were stabbed in different places and a different number of times.
Mabbutt told News Nation that each victim suffered a "lethal" stab wound to the "chest area or the upper body area."
The coroner said it "seems likely that they were sleeping" at the time of the attacks. She said that the victims were found in beds.
Regarding a possible suspect, Mabbutt said, "It has to be somebody that’s pretty angry in order to stab four people to death."
Mabbutt told Idaho News that the stabbings appear to be "personal."
The coroner informed KXLY that there were no signs of sexual assault.
\u201cLatah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt tells #Banfield that the University of Idaho student murder victims were found in bed, and it's likely they were asleep.\u201d— NewsNation (@NewsNation) 1668748278
Jeffrey Kernodle, the father of Xana Kernodle, told Arizona’s Family that he believes the autopsy shows that his daughter fought off her killer until the very end.
"Bruises, torn by the knife. She's a tough kid. Whatever she wanted to do, she could do it," Kernodle said.
The coroner said that there was a "little bit of bruising" but "nothing significant."
Mabbutt believes that the victims bled to death from their stab wounds.
There were reportedly nail clippings found at the crime scene that were sent to a lab to be processed.
"It's pretty traumatic when there's four dead college students who have been stabbed to death in one location," Mabbutt said. "I've been coroner for 16 years. ... We have had multiple [victim] murders in the past, but nothing, nothing like this."
The final autopsy results will take another four to six weeks to process.
Moscow police Chief James Fry said at a press conference on Wednesday, "We do not have a suspect at this time, and that individual is still out there. We cannot say that there is no threat to the community. There is a threat out there, possibly."
Fry said that it "certainly is possible" that there could be more than one suspect in the case.
Fry noted that there were two additional roommates at the off-campus home during the murders. However, Latah County prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson said they are not suspects and have been cooperating with law enforcement.
A neighbor told NBC News that Mogen, Goncalves, and Kernodle lived in the six-bedroom home. Kernodle was dating Chapin at the time of the bloody attack.
There were reportedly no signs of a break-in at the home.
Xana's father said the front door has a keypad lock that requires a code for entry. He suspects that the killer may have entered the home through the rear sliding glass door.
"The door locks with a number code. Every time you go, you have to go around the house because of the number code. So they either knew that or went around and maybe found the slider door open," Jeffrey Kernodle said.
The sister of Kaylee Goncalves told KHQ, "There was a keypad on their front door. I will say, due to the closeness of the community and due to the safeness of it, I think a lot of people had access to that door."
"It wasn't a hit and run, it wasn't a car accident," the sister said. "Someone did this with a purpose of doing this. Not once, not twice, not three times, but four times."
Fox News obtained a photo of the home that shows blood oozing out of the side of the house.
Autopsy Confirms 4 Idaho College Students Were Stabbed To Death www.youtube.com
The Moscow Police Department released a map and timeline of the victims' movements leading up to their murder.
"The following map details the night of November 12th into the early hours of November 13th, with the locations and approximate times when Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were in downtown Moscow while Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi house," a statement read. "Anyone near these areas who observed suspicious behavior, has video surveillance, or can provide relevant information is asked to call the Tip Line."
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