Details of the Idaho University murders have been released after more than two years following Bryan Kohberger’s July 2025 sentencing hearing.
More than 300 investigatory records were released via the Moscow Police Department after a previous gag order was lifted. The unsealed records reveal that during his first interview with police in December 2022, Kohberger was asked about the murders. When law enforcement asked whether he wanted to discuss what happened, he replied, “Well, I think I would need a lawyer.”
On November 13, 2022, Kohberger entered the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, and stabbed college students Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves to death. While Kohberger was pursuing a PhD at Washington State University at the time of the murders, he was arrested nearly a month after the incident at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania.
Following his arrest, Kohberger pleaded not guilty to the four murders. In July 2025, he entered a guilty plea as part of a deal that removed the possibility of the death penalty, which would have been on the table if the case had gone to trial. Kohberger was sentenced to four lifetimes in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.
When asked whether he wanted to speak during the sentencing hearing after listening to several statements from the victims’ family and friends, Kohberger declined.
Keep scrolling for some of the most shocking takeaways from the unsealed documents:
Xana Kernodle’s Defense Wounds
Kernodle was the only one of the four victims to have defense wounds, confirming that she came face-to-face with Kohberger on the night of the attacks.
“It was obvious an intense struggle had occurred,” law enforcement stated in one report, noting that there was a “deep gash” on her left hand which was “indicative of defensive wounds.”
Kaylee Goncalves Was ‘Unrecognizable’
Multiple documents from various police officers who responded to the scene noted that Goncalves was “unrecognizable” when her body was found, revealing that her face was “completely disfigured.”
The Autopsy Results
Both Chapin and Mogen were stabbed with “sharp force,” the autopsies revealed. Kernodle, meanwhile, had over 50 stab wounds on her body. Goncalves was stabbed more than 20 times and received “sharp force injuries, asphyxia injuries and blunt force injuries.”
The autopsies also offered more details about the murder weapon, revealing it was “single edged, very sharp and said a lot of force was used by the suspect.”
Dylan Mortensen’s Police Interview
One of the two surviving roommates, Mortensen, spoke with police about what she saw in the King Road home during the early hours of November 13, 2022. (Bethany Funke is the second surviving roommate.)
Mortensen recalled hearing “a voice scream” at about 4 a.m. She then “locked herself in her bedroom and continued to hear a commotion.” Mortensen recalled hearing what seemed to be a male voice say, “You’re gonna be fine. I’m gonna help you.” She eventually peeked out of her bedroom door and saw Kohberger exiting the house. She and Funke did not call the police at the time because they were still inebriated from their night out.
Several Eerie Events
A police interview with one of Goncalves’ friends revealed that she had mentioned having a “stalker.” Several events leading up to the night of the murders were unnerving, as Goncalves stated she thought someone was following her. In a separate incident, she claimed she saw an “unknown male up above their house to the south who was staring at her” while she was taking her dog out.
Bryan Kohberger Was Injured
One of Kohberger’s classmates spoke with police and recalled seeing injuries on his “face and hands.” The classmate said it occurred on “two separate occasions in October and November of 2022.” One was a “large scratch on Kohberger’s face,” which looked like it could be from fingernails. When asked about the injuries, Kohberger said that he was in a car accident.
Bryan Kohberger’s Tinder Date
A past Tinder date was also interviewed by law enforcement and recalled Kohberger asking her about the worst way to die. She answered that she thought it would involve being stabbed by a knife.
“Kohberger then asked her something to the effect of ‘like a Ka-Bar?’” the documents read, referring to the knife sheath that was found at King Road after the Idaho murders. (The murder weapon has still not been retrieved.)
Bryan Kohberger’s Hygiene Habits
Fellow inmates commented on Kohberger’s hygiene habits in jail. The documents revealed Kohberger would apparently wash his hands “dozens of times each day” and spend close to one hour in the shower.
