After returning home from a late night out, four University of Idaho college students were murdered in their home.The murder was committed in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were victims of the horrific crime. However, two residents of the King Road residence survived, Dylan Mortenson and Bethany Funke. Speculations around the brutal stabbing began almost immediately, and only worsened as police withheld information regarding the investigation.

“There was hardly any new evidence at first,” Lincoln East junior Cami Mollhoff said. “The silence from the cops made it hard to make sense of what was really going on.” Mollhoff has been following the case since it surfaced in the news.

Mogen and Goncalves were spotted on cameras at The Grub Truck in downtown Moscow around 1:40 a.m. The two are said to have arrived home around 2:00 a.m. using a sorority driving service. Kernodle and her boyfriend, Chapin, entered the home at 1:45 a.m. after leaving the Sigma Chi house.

Much has been theorized regarding the multiple calls made to Jack DeCouer, the ex-boyfriend of Goncalves, between 2:26 a.m. and 2:52 a.m. but he was ruled out as a suspect very early in the investigation.

Goncalves’ family had nothing but good things to say about DeCour. “Jack is our family. Jack is 1000%, 2000% our family,” Kristi Goncalves said. “We know in our hearts and our minds and our souls and the depth of our soul, Jack is hurting.”

The two surviving roommates, Mortenson and Funke, were reported to have been asleep during the murders. Although the affidavit from officer, Brett Payne, accounts interviews with them that provide insight to their knowledge of the night.

Mortenson was awoken to Goncalves “playing with her dog” around 4:00 a.m, but what he really heard is impossible to know. Claiming to have heard other voices, Mortenson opened her door several times, having only viewed the suspect on the third opening. The affidavit records her statement as seeing “a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her”.

A neighboring security camera was able to pick up sounds of whimpering, thuds, and a dog barking around 4:17 a.m. Police have stated that Goncalves’ dog, Murphy, was home at that time as well. A collection of all of the evidence points the officials to the murder taking place sometime between 4:00 and 4:25 a.m.

It wasn’t until 11:58 a.m. the next day that Moscow police were notified of the incident. The surviving roommates called friends over thinking one of the victims had passed out. They then reported an unconscious person in a 911 call, and law enforcement arrived finding all four victims in their beds with stab wounds from a fixed blade knife. The murder weapon has yet to be recovered, but officials claim it to have been a Ka-Bar style knife.

Current suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022. He was charged with four counts of first degree murder and a burglary felony. Be on the lookout for part 2 with more information on Kohberger.