Idaho Murder Victim's Dad Reacts to 911 Call

The Idaho murder victims’ families continue to mourn their loved ones.

Over two years since the tragic murders of four University of Idaho students, including Kaylee Goncalves, her father is now disclosing his feelings upon hearing a recently published 911 call made in the hours following their demise.

After approximately two and a half years, Steve Goncalves shared with NBC News that it felt as if it were the first time he was hearing something new. He explained it was similar to experiencing the initial day all over again.

He stated, “The voices of those girls were filled with intense suffering and fear, and their breaths echoed this distress. However, there was a sense of relief in knowing that we were uncovering the harsh reality of the situation.

While suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested following the Nov. 2022 murders—and currently awaits trial after pleading not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in 2023—Steve says waiting all this time for answers has been a challenge on the victims’ families.

In my perspective as a lifestyle guide, it’s much like a drip, drip situation where small amounts keep emerging, never quite enough to bring relief. However, if we genuinely allow our community to mete out justice, I believe we can find a sense of resolution.

The call to 911, made some hours following the tragic deaths of Kaylee, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin (Xana’s boyfriend), describes the discovery of their lifeless bodies by an anonymous woman.

I’ve got some breaking news to share, something unusual just occurred in our home, and I’m not entirely sure what it was,” I told the dispatcher after listening to the audio provided by TopMob News. The incident remains a mystery to me.

Following a conversation with the dispatcher, another female voice chimed in, “One of our housemates appears to be unconscious. She was heavily intoxicated yesterday and isn’t responding now.

“Oh,” she added, “and they saw some man in their house last night.”

The two ladies appeared visibly upset and weeping while conversing with the dispatcher, who inquired them to verify that their roommate, whose identity wasn’t yet known, was indeed unconscious.

During the early hours of February 13th, Bryan, who was pursuing his PhD studies at Washington State University at that time, has been implicated in a series of stabbings. The police described this incident as an “isolated, targeted attack” using a weapon such as a knife.

His trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 11.

For more information on the heartbreaking case, keep reading.

21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, along with Madison Mogen (also 21), Xana Kernodle (age 20), and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin (aged 20) were all university students residing in an off-campus apartment. These individuals are associated with the University of Idaho.

On Nov. 12, 2022—the night before their bodies were found—Gonclaves and Mogen were at a nearby sports bar, while Kernodle and Chapin were at the latter’s fraternity party. By 2 a.m. on Nov. 13, the four roommates and Chapin were back at the three-story rental house.

Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She was expected to graduate in December before heading to Austin, Tex., for a job at a marketing firm, her friend Jordyn Quesnell told The New York Times.

Mogen, who was studying marketing, was best friends with Gonglaves since the sixth grade. She had plans to move to Boise after graduation, family friend Jessie Frost shared with The Idaho Statesman.

Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing, the University said at the time. She and Chapin—who majored in recreation, sport and tourism management—had been dating since the spring, the roommates’ neighbor Ellie McKnight told NBC News.

Two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, had been home at the time of the murders. In text messages that were unsealed March 6, 2025, Mortensen and Funke tried contacting their roommates on Nov. 13 after the former saw a masked man moving through the house, according to documents obtained by TopMob News.

“No one is answering,” Mortensen texted Funke at 4:22 a.m. “I’m rlly confused rn.”

She persistently contacted her roommates, encouraging them to get back to her. At 4:32 a.m., she messaged Goncalves, “Could you please reply?” and later at 10:23 a.m., she inquired, “Are you awake?

At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call was placed after Kernodle was found unresponsive, per an additional motion obtained by TopMob News. A woman named A1 in the transcript described the current situation to the operator.

One of our flatmates seems to have overindulged last night, got too drunk, and hasn’t woken up yet,” she explained over the phone. “Apparently, they spotted an unknown man inside their residence last night.

Bryan Kohberger, who has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, was a doctoral candidate at Washington State University. Over one month after the bodies of Gonclaves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin were discovered, Kohberger was taken into custody Dec. 30 in Monroe County, Penn. He was extradited to Idaho Jan. 4.

As for how authorities connected him to the killings? DNA was found on a knife sheath that was left at the crime scene, prosecutors revealed in June 2023 court documents, per NBC News.

When the DNA didn’t match anyone in the FBI database, authorities ran the DNA through public ancestry websites to create a list of potential suspects, according to the filings. After learning that Kohberger had driven to his parents’ home in Monroe County, local officials then went through their trash and found DNA that tied him to that found on the sheath.

At the moment, a motive for the attack has not been detailed and a gag order prevents many involved in the case from speaking publicly, NBC News reported. However, the unsealed documents provided some insight into their arguments.

Kohberger’s attorneys argued in a motion obtained by TopMob News to strike the death penalty that Kohberger—who could face the death penalty if found guilty on all counts, a judge ruled in November 2024—has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”

His defense argued that Kohbereger “displays extremely rigid thinking, perseverates on specific topics, processes information on a piecemeal basis, struggles to plan ahead, and demonstrates little insight into his own behaviors and emotions.”

“Due to his ASD, Mr. Kohberger simply cannot comport himself in a manner that aligns with societal expectations of normalcy,” the motion said. “This creates an unconscionable risk that he will be executed because of his disability rather than his culpability.”

Kohberger had a judge enter a not-guilty plea to the first-degree murder charges on his behalf after remaining silent at his May 2023 arraignment. Although his trial was set to begin Oct. 2, 2023, Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial in August 2023.

His new trial date—which will take place in Ada County, more than 300 miles from Latah County, where the killings took place—is set to begin Aug. 11, 2025.

Latah County Judge John Judge ruled in favor of the transfer request made by Kohberger’s defense in September 2024 based on “presumed prejudice” if the trial remained in Latah County.
Ada County Judge Steven Hippler—who is now presiding over the case—denied the defense’s request to suppress key DNA and other evidence, including cell phone and email records, surveillance footage, past Amazon purchases and DNA evidence in the trial.

2025-03-17 22:20

Idaho Murder Victim’s Dad Reacts to 911 Call

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