Bryan Kohberger’s Sister Mel Kohberger Breaks Silence on Idaho Murders

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Bryan Kohberger’s sister is speaking out about her sibling’s crimes.

Mel Kohberger has publicly denounced rumors suggesting she or her family knew about Bryan Kohberger’s involvement in the 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. Bryan Kohberger, 31, pleaded guilty to the killings in July and received four life sentences.

She told The New York Times that she’s always believed in doing what’s right. In an interview published January 3rd, she stated that she would have reported her brother if she ever thought he’d done something wrong.

Mel actually told her brother about the terrible event before the police had a suspect. She did this because he lived close by and often went for runs late at night in the area.

She warned Bryan that a dangerous killer was out and about, and told him to be careful while running outside, according to reports.

Mel recalled Bryan expressing his gratitude for her worry, but she then explained how shocked she was when her sister, Amanda Kohberger, told her that police had arrested their brother. She said the news made her feel sick.

“She was like, ‘I’m with the FBI, Bryan’s been arrested,’” Mel recalled. “I was like, ‘For what?’”

Mel explained how being connected to Bryan has affected her life since the murders. She shared that when her brother was arrested in December 2022, she was preparing for a career as a mental health counselor. However, after her employer received a lot of questions about the situation, she decided to step down from the position.

She described feeling lost and hurt, like she was being treated unfairly, but didn’t quite fit the role of a victim.

Mel acknowledged that her family missed Bryan during holidays and other special times, but she stressed that they immediately thought about the much greater suffering of the victims’ families.

Honestly, when Mel started talking about this, it was incredibly moving. She was so overcome with emotion she could barely get the words out – it was a really powerful moment, as she shared with the New York Times.

As someone who’s always been interested in how we consume media, I really appreciated what Mel shared recently. She pointed out something crucial: while true crime can be captivating, we need to remember there are real people and families deeply affected by these events. It’s a good reminder to think about the impact our fascination has on those closest to the cases.

People are naturally drawn to stories about crime – it’s a way we learn to protect ourselves. However, I believe we need to approach true crime with more consideration and support for the victims’ families.

For more details on the Idaho murders, read on.

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all University of Idaho students. The four, aged 20 and 21, shared an apartment near campus.

On the night of November 12th, 2022, before the students were discovered, Goncalves and Mogen had been at a local sports bar. Meanwhile, Kernodle and Chapin were at a party hosted by Chapin’s fraternity. By 2 a.m. on November 13th, all four roommates, along with Chapin, had returned to the house they were renting.

Goncalves was a senior at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, studying general studies. She was on track to graduate in December and had accepted a job at a marketing firm in Austin, Texas, according to her friend, Jordyn Quesnell, who spoke with The New York Times.

Mogen, a marketing student, and Goncalves have been close friends since the sixth grade. According to Jessie Frost, a family friend, Mogen planned to move to Boise after graduating, as reported by The Idaho Statesman.

According to the University, Kernodle was a marketing student, and Chapin studied recreation, sport, and tourism management. Their roommate’s neighbor, Ellie McKnight, told NBC News that the two had been dating since the spring.

Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, the two roommates who were home when the murders happened, exchanged text messages on November 13th after Mortensen spotted a masked person inside the house, according to documents from TopMob News. These messages were released to the public on March 6, 2025.

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

She kept trying to get in touch with their roommates, repeatedly asking for a reply. She texted Goncalves at 4:32 a.m., saying “Please answer,” and again at 10:23 a.m., asking “Are you up?”

Police received a 911 call at 11:58 a.m. after Kernodle was found not responding, according to a recently obtained document from TopMob News. A woman, identified as A1 in the call transcript, explained what was happening to the 911 operator.

She told me one of her roommates was unconscious and had been drinking heavily the night before, and they couldn’t wake her up. She also said someone had been in their house last night.

Bryan Kohberger, a doctoral student at Washington State University, was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. He was taken into custody on December 30th in Pennsylvania, more than a month after the bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were found. He was then brought to Idaho on January 4, 2023, to face the charges.

Prosecutors said in June 2023 that DNA found on a knife sheath at the crime scene linked the suspect to the killings, according to NBC News.

Investigators checked the DNA against FBI records but didn’t find a match. They then used public genealogy websites to identify possible suspects. After discovering Kohberger drove to his parents’ house, police searched their trash and found DNA evidence linking him to the knife sheath found at the crime scene.

Investigators haven’t yet revealed why the attack happened, and those connected to the case are mostly prohibited from discussing it publicly, according to NBC News. However, newly released documents offer some clues about the first disagreements that occurred.

Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers have filed a motion with the court to remove the possibility of the death penalty in his case. They argue that Kohberger has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and executing someone with ASD would be considered a cruel and unusual punishment, violating his Eighth Amendment rights.

The defense team stated that Kohbereger exhibits very inflexible thought patterns, gets stuck on certain subjects, analyzes information in small parts, has difficulty with future planning, and lacks self-awareness regarding his actions and feelings.

The legal filing argues that because of his autism, Mr. Kohberger may not behave in ways that most people consider normal. This raises a serious concern that he could be put to death not because of what he did, but because of his disability.

Bryan Kohberger didn’t enter a plea himself at his first court appearance in May 2023, so the judge entered a not-guilty plea for him regarding the murder charges. While a trial was originally scheduled to start on October 2, 2023, Kohberger agreed to postpone it by giving up his right to a speedy trial in August 2023.

The trial was scheduled to start on August 11, 2025, and would be held in Ada County, over 300 miles away from where the crimes occurred in Latah County.

In September 2024, Latah County Judge John Judge approved a request from Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to move the trial location. He believed a fair trial would be difficult in Latah County due to potential bias among local residents.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE this! Judge Hippler just totally shut down the defense’s attempt to hide all the evidence against him! I mean, EVERYTHING was up for grabs – his DNA, phone records, emails, even what he BOUGHT on Amazon! They tried to keep it all secret, but Judge Hippler wasn’t having it. He said no way, and now it’s all going to be presented at trial! I’m so excited, this is HUGE!

Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial was cancelled unexpectedly when he accepted a plea deal on June 30, 2025. By taking the deal, Kohberger admitted guilt to four counts of murder and one count of burglary, and he gave up his right to appeal the conviction or ask for a lighter sentence.

On July 2, 2025, he admitted to his guilt. When the judge asked if he intentionally and with prior planning killed the four victims, he responded with a simple “yes.”

As a dedicated follower of this case, I was really struck by a selfie of Bryan Kohberger that surfaced in March 2025. It was taken the morning after the terrible murders, and he’s giving a thumbs up in front of a shower. What caught my attention was how much he resembled the description a witness – identified as “D.M.” in court documents – gave of the suspect. D.M. specifically mentioned that the person they saw had noticeably bushy eyebrows, and you can definitely see that in the photo.

Kaylee’s father, Steve Goncalves, described the image as a “trophy” during an interview with Fox and Friends.

Gonçalves explained that the suspect returned to the scene of the crime and realized no one had yet called for help.

He described it as a personal victory, a way for the person to feel like they’d successfully gotten away with something without being caught or questioned.

A former classmate of Bryan Kohberger shared a strange text message he sent her after they met at a party, as featured in a 2025 Dateline documentary about the murders.

Holly explained she felt a bit obliged to talk to him because he seemed uncomfortable. She described him as a PhD student who appeared to be new to the party and trying to be friendly and meet people.

The following day, Holly said she received a text from him, which she described as overly formal. 

According to Dateline, Bryan texted on July 10, 2022, at 1:19 p.m., saying, “I’m pretty sure we talked about hiking yesterday. I love it, so let me know if you’re interested. Thanks!”

The Dateline documentary also revealed that Kohberger had searched online for Ted Bundy, Britney Spears’ song “Criminal,” and information about the University of Idaho Murders.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, along with one count of burglary, in an Idaho court hearing on July 2, 2025. This plea avoided a potential death penalty sentence as part of a previously agreed-upon deal.

During questioning, Judge Hippler asked Bryan Kohberger if he intentionally and with malicious intent killed each of the victims. Kohberger responded with a clear “Yes” to each question.

Okay, so I’ve been following this case obsessively, and apparently, by taking the plea deal, Bryan Kohberger basically gave up all his chances to fight back later. Like, he can’t appeal the conviction, and he definitely can’t ask the judge to be nicer about how long he’s locked up. It’s…it’s just done. I read Hippler said that, and it’s just…wow. He’s really committed now.

Despite strong objections from the families of the victims, Goncalves and Kernodle, Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison on July 23, 2025, after a plea deal eliminated the possibility of the death penalty.

Judge Hippler sentenced Bryan Kohberger to four life sentences without parole for each of the four counts of first-degree murder. He also ordered Kohberger to pay a $50,000 fine for each murder count, plus an additional $5,000 to each of the victims’ families. In addition to the life sentences, Kohberger received a 10-year sentence and a $50,000 fine for the burglary charge.

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2026-01-03 23:18