Idaho Murders: Bryan Kohberger Seemingly “Posed” 2 Victims in Bed

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Bryan Kohberger may not have fled immediately after committing murder. 

According to a newly released court document obtained by People, the man convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students—Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20—may have moved the bodies of two of the victims after killing them at their off-campus home in 2022. He pleaded guilty to the murders and received a life sentence.

According to court documents, Dr. Brent Turvey, a forensic scientist and crime scene expert working with Bryan Kohberger’s defense, made this observation after examining the autopsy reports.

According to court documents, the crime scene analyst stated that after Kaylee and Madison were killed, their bodies were positioned in the bed they shared. Kaylee was moved so that she was partially on top of Madison, and then both were covered with a comforter.

Newly released court documents offer a fresh look at the timeline of the murders. According to police reports cited by ABC News, on November 13, 2022, roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Xana Kernodle returned home with Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, after spending the evening out.

According to investigators, Bryan Kohberger entered the house through a sliding glass door and killed the four students shortly after 4 a.m., as prosecutor Bill Thompson explained.

According to court documents obtained by Dateline for its special report, “The Terrible Night on King Road,” the 31-year-old then used a large knife to attack the victims.

Autopsies released by the Moscow Police Department and reviewed by TopMob News show that Mogen and Goncalves died from stab wounds in their bedroom on the third floor. Goncalves also suffered from suffocation during the attack.

Police reports obtained by the Idaho Statesman state that Goncalves’ injuries were so severe she was difficult to identify.

According to Dateline, Kernodle was awake and had recently ordered food through DoorDash when the murders occurred. An autopsy report obtained by TopMob News revealed she was stabbed more than 50 times, with most of the injuries happening as she fought back.

Investigators believe Chapin, her boyfriend, was the last one attacked. According to sources close to the investigation who spoke with Dateline, he was probably asleep in bed when he was killed. The attacker reportedly used a blade to severely wound his legs during the attack.

According to prosecutors, Kernodle was awake and had ordered food through DoorDash around the time of the murders, as reported by ABC News. An autopsy obtained by TopMob News revealed she was stabbed more than 50 times, with most of the injuries occurring as she fought back.

Investigators believe Chapin was the last person attacked. According to sources close to the investigation, he was probably asleep in bed when he was killed. The attacker reportedly used a blade to severely wound his legs during the brutal attack.

Keep reading for a full breakdown of the horrific case.

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

On the evening of November 12, 2022, the night before they were discovered, Goncalves and Mogen spent time at a local sports bar. Meanwhile, Kernodle and Chapin were at a party hosted by Chapin’s fraternity. By 2 a.m. on November 13, 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, as reported by 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.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve been following this story closely. At the time, Morgan Kernodle was a marketing student and her boyfriend, Kade Chapin, was studying recreation, sports, and tourism management. They’d actually been dating since the spring, according to their neighbor, Ellie McKnight, who shared this with NBC News.

Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, two roommates, were home when the murders happened. According to documents obtained by TopMob News, after Mortensen saw a masked man inside the house on November 13th, she and Funke tried to reach their other roommates via text message. These text messages were made 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 response. She texted Goncalves at 4:32 a.m., saying “Please answer,” and again at 10:23 a.m., asking “Are you up?”

According to a newly obtained transcript, a 911 call was made at 11:58 a.m. after Kernodle was found unconscious. A woman identified as A1 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. Kohberger 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. So, they used public genealogy websites to identify possible suspects. They discovered Bryan Kohberger had traveled to his parents’ house, and a search of their trash revealed 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 largely restricted from making public statements, according to NBC News. However, newly released court documents offer some clues about the first disagreements between those involved.

In a recent court filing obtained by TopMob News, Bryan Kohberger’s lawyers asked the judge to remove the possibility of the death penalty. They argued 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.

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

According to a legal filing, Mr. Kohberger’s autism makes it difficult for him to behave in ways that most people consider normal. This raises serious concerns 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. While a trial was scheduled to start on October 2, 2023, Kohberger decided to give up his right to a quick trial in August of that year.

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 lawyers to move the trial location. He believed a fair trial would be difficult in Latah County due to potential local bias.

Judge Steven Hippler ruled against the defense’s motion to exclude important evidence in the trial. This evidence includes DNA, cell phone and email records, surveillance videos, past purchases made on Amazon, and other relevant materials.

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

On July 2, 2025, he admitted to guilt, and confirmed to the judge that he intentionally and with prior planning killed all four victims when asked if he had done so willingly, unlawfully, deliberately, and with malice aforethought.

A selfie Bryan Kohberger took the day after the murders came to light was shown in court in March 2025. The photo, which depicts him giving a thumbs-up in front of a shower, suggests he matches the description provided by a witness – identified as “D.M.” in court documents – who noted the suspect had thick eyebrows.

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

Gonçalves explained that the suspect had just returned to the location where the crime happened and realized no one had yet called for emergency help.

He described it as a personal reminder – 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 detailed in a 2025 Dateline documentary about the murders.

Honestly, I felt bad for him, so I made sure to talk to him. He just seemed a little lost and awkward, you know? Like a PhD student at a party who didn’t know anyone and was really putting himself out there to try and meet people. I could tell he was trying his best to be social, and I wanted to make him feel a little more comfortable.

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, as well as one count of burglary, in Idaho on July 2, 2025. This plea came after he agreed to a deal with prosecutors that removed the possibility of the death penalty.

Judge Hippler asked Bryan Kohberger if he intentionally and with prior planning 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! I read that Hippler said he can’t appeal the decision, and he definitely can’t ask the judge to give him a shorter sentence. It’s…it’s just done. He’s accepting everything. It’s crazy to think about!

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 and $5,000 to each of the victims’ families. Additionally, Kohberger received a 10-year sentence and a $50,000 fine for the burglary charge.

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2026-01-28 17:21