Janice Lozano
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin—were stabbed to death in a shared rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho. The killings shocked the small college community of Moscow, sparking weeks of speculation and thousands of tips before culminating in an arrest. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student in criminal justice and criminology at a nearby university, was arrested in Pennsylvania on December 30, 2022, and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The victims
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students—Kaylee Goncalves (21), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20), and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin (20)—were fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. The four victims were found dead in their rental home, with no signs of a break-in.
Goncalves, Mogen, and Kernodle lived in the rented off-campus residence with two other female University of Idaho students. On the night of November 12, the five roommates had spent a typical Saturday night out near the university campus and returned home in the early hours of Sunday. Around 4 a.m., one of the roommates, Dylan Mortensen, woke up to strange noises and thought she heard Goncalves say, "'There's someone here.'" The surviving roommates tried to contact the victims multiple times between 4:19 a.m. and 4:32 a.m. but received no response. At 10:23 a.m., they texted Goncalves and Mogen again, and shortly before calling 911 at 11:58 a.m., they called someone outside the house.
When police arrived, they found Goncalves and Mogen dead upstairs in one of the beds with visible stab wounds and a tan leather knife sheath on the bed next to Mogen. Kernodle and Chapin were found dead on the floor of the second floor. Goncalves's dog was found alive and unharmed on the third floor.
The killings shocked the small community of Moscow, Idaho, which hadn't seen a murder in recent years. The victims' families objected to the demolition of the house where the killings occurred, arguing that it should remain standing for the trial. However, the house was ultimately donated to the university and demolished in December 2024, with a memorial garden for the victims opening on the campus in 2024. Scholarships have also been created in the names of three of the victims: Kernodle, Chapin, and Mogen.
Prestigious University Students: What Fuels Their Drive?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
$12.99 $12.99
The suspect
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student in criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University, was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on December 30, 2022, on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He was accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, on November 13, 2022.
Kohberger lived in Pullman, Washington, less than eight miles west of Moscow, Idaho, where the killings took place. He had moved to Washington state in the summer of 2022 to pursue his Ph.D. and had completed his first semester just nine days before his arrest. Prior to that, he had attended Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, graduating with an associate degree in psychology in 2018. He then received a bachelor's degree from DeSales University in Pennsylvania in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.
Kohberger's arrest came after investigators matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from the sheath of a knife believed to be the murder weapon. Additionally, cell tower data placed him near the crime scene at the time of the killings.
Kohberger had a history of mental health issues, including struggles with dissociation, suicidal thoughts, a lack of emotion, and minimal remorse, which he documented online as a teenager. He had also previously used heroin when feeling suicidal. Despite these red flags, Kohberger's lawyers have filed an alibi defense, claiming that he was miles away from the crime scene at the time of the killings.
Exploring Student Numbers at University of Detroit Mercy
You may want to see also
Explore related products
$12.79 $14.95
$7.43 $7.99
The crime scene
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—were found dead at an off-campus residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho. The students were stabbed to death with a large fixed-blade knife, although the murder weapon was never found.
The three-story home had six bedrooms, two on each floor. Kernodle and Chapin were on the second floor, Goncalves and Mogen were on the third floor, and two other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were on the second and first floors, respectively.
On the night of November 12, the four victims had spent a typical Saturday night out near the university campus and returned to the house in the early hours of Sunday. Around 4 a.m., Mortensen was woken up by strange noises upstairs. She thought she heard Goncalves say, "there's someone here."
At 4:19 a.m., the surviving roommates began texting the victims, but they never answered. The roommates called someone outside the house at 11:50 a.m., and the 911 call was made at 11:58 a.m. When police arrived, they found Kernodle and Chapin dead on the floor of the second floor and Goncalves and Mogen dead in one of the beds upstairs, with visible stab wounds. Goncalves's dog was found alive and unharmed on the third floor.
The Moscow Police Department led the investigation, with support from the Idaho State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the weeks following the killings, TikTokers, self-proclaimed psychics, and social media users began to speculate and spread rumours about the case. On December 30, 2022, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student in criminal justice at Washington State University, was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
University Students: How Much Time Off?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
![True Crime (BD) [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91WhnvHo1dL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
The investigation
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students—Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20—were found stabbed to death in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. The killings shocked the small college community, and investigators described the case as "very complex."
One of the surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen, reported being woken up by strange noises around 4 a.m. and later hearing Goncalves say something like "there's someone here." Another roommate, Bethany Funke, was the first to discover one of the victims, calling 911 and reporting that her roommate was unconscious and had been drinking the night before.
Police initially struggled to identify a suspect or a motive for the killings, and no murder weapon was found. They did, however, find a leather knife sheath with male DNA on it, which was later matched to Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student in criminal justice at Washington State University, located less than 10 miles from the University of Idaho. Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania on December 30, 2022, and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin in August 2025 in Boise, Idaho.
Top Solar Energy Courses at International Universities
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The trial
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminal justice and criminology PhD student at Washington State University, was arrested in December 2022 on four counts of first-degree murder and one felony count of burglary. He was detained without bond at the Monroe County Correctional Facility in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Kohberger was a teaching assistant at WSU, and less than two weeks before the murders, faculty members met with him to discuss concerns about his behaviour and conduct. He was terminated from his teaching assistant role on December 19, 2022, based on his behaviour and performance.
Kohberger's lawyers have filed an alibi defence, stating that cellphone tower data will show that he was miles away when the victims were killed. They also intend to introduce evidence of blood from an unknown male found on a stairwell and a glove found outside the crime scene. Prosecutors, on the other hand, are using genetic genealogy to tie Kohberger to DNA found at the scene. They have also stated that they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
Exploring Ferris State University's Student Population
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in a shared rental home close to campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The victims were Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminal justice doctoral student at Washington State University, was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder and one felony count of burglary.
The motive is currently unclear and is subject to speculation. Kohberger had previously written about his struggles with dissociation, suicidal thoughts, a lack of emotion, and minimal remorse.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to the murders. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on August 11, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
