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The Moscow Police Department has unsealed new documents related to the University of Idaho murders following Bryan Kohberger’s July 23 sentencing.
The documents reveal a multitude of disturbing details about the final moments of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, whose bloodied remains were found in their off-campus housing on November 13, 2022. The records additionally outline Mogen’s suspicions that she was being watched a month prior to the murders, as detailed in interviews police conducted with her friends and surviving roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke.
Mortensen and Funke survived the harrowing attacks by locking themselves in their rooms, and are frequently cited in the reports. They told officers they heard a commotion at around 4 a.m., and Mortensen encountered a masked figure, but they were unsure of what had happened until the following morning.
Further records related to the investigation, previously sealed due to a gag order, are expected to be released from other investigative agencies in the coming weeks.
Kohberger was sentenced to life without parole on July 23 after previously pleading guilty to four counts of murder and one count of burglary. He has yet to explain his motive, and told District Court Judge Steven Hippler at the sentencing hearing that he “respectfully” declined the opportunity to address the court.
Read on to learn more about the latest details revealed about the horrific crimes.
Kaylee Goncalves’ face was “unrecognizable”
On the third floor of the King Road house in Moscow, Idaho, which has since been demolished, Goncalves and Mogen were found laying in a bed together, covered in a blood-soaked pink blanket. Mogen had a “gash” that extended from her eye to her nose, while “Kaylee was unrecognizable as her facial structure was completely damaged,” wrote Moscow Police Department Sgt. Shaine Gunderson.
Moscow Police Department Officer Corbin Smith wrote that Goncalves’ face was so “disfigured,” he “was unable to comprehend exactly what I was looking at while trying to discern the nature of the injuries.”
The medical examiner’s report states that Mogen, Chapin, and Kernodle’s injuries were only sharp force, while Goncalves had signs of “sharp force injuries, asphyxial injuries, and blunt force injuries.”
Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen fought attacker
Sgt. Gunderson described the brutality of the attacks in an early report, writing that there was blood “all over the floor,” walls, and bedding in the second floor room where Kernodle and her boyfriend Chapin were found. “It was obvious an intense struggle had occurred,” he wrote.
Kernodle was stabbed more than 50 times, a majority of which were defensive wounds, according to the medical examiner’s report. Likewise, Mogen had defensive wounds on her forearms and hands.
A report from Officer Smith noted that Chapin, found laying on the bed, appeared to have a “laceration” on his neck, unlike the other victims. It’s suggested that Chapin was killed while he slept, and Kernodle likely came face-to-face with the killer after receiving a DoorDash order, at which point a struggle ensued.
Kaylee Goncalves saw a “shadow” following her
Though the surviving roommates initially reported that things had seemed “normal” in the days preceding the November 13 attacks, they noted that there had been one strange incident a month prior. They said that Goncalves had reportedly told the other roommates that she thought “an individual was following her” after seeing a “shadow” while walking her dog, Det. Lawrence Mowery wrote.
“Kaylee saw a dark figure staring at her from the tree line when she took her dog Murphy out to pee,” according to the report. “There has been light hearted talk and jokes made about a stalker in the past.”
The roommates also told Det. Mowery that the door to the King Road house was regularly locked, but there were “issues with locking and sometimes it could be opened without a code.”
Kohberger, who was linked to the crime scene through DNA found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath left behind, likely got into the home using the sliding back door, which was left ajar. Officers observed large footsteps in the snow leading away from the residence.
At Kohberger’s sentencing hearing, Mortensen and Funke described the impact the killings have had on their lives. Mortensen said she suffers debilitating anxiety and struggles to go to public spaces. “Sometimes, I drop to the floor with my heart racing,” she said.
Funke, who had a friend read her impact statement on her behalf, expressed that she continues to experience survivor’s guilt.
“I hated and still hate that they are gone, but for some reason, I am still here, and I got to live,” Funke’s written statement read. “I still think about this every day. Why me? Why did I get to live and not them? For the longest time, I could not even look at their families without feeling sick with guilt.”