‘Less than human': Silent killer jailed for slaying four Idaho students
Mortensen and another surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, described crippling panic attacks and anxiety after the attack.
'I slept in my parents' room for almost a year, and had them double lock every door, set an alarm, and still check everywhere in the room just in case someone was hiding,' Funke wrote in a statement read by a friend.
'I have not slept through a single night since this happened. I constantly wake up in panic, terrified someone is breaking in or someone is here to hurt me, or I'm about to lose someone else that I love.'
Alivea Goncalves's voice didn't waver as she asked Kohberger questions about the killings, including what her sister's last words were. She drew applause after belittling Kohberger, who remained expressionless as she insulted him.
'You didn't win, you just exposed yourself as the coward you are,' Alivea Goncalves said. 'You're a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser.'
Kohberger's mother and sister also attended the hearing, sitting in the gallery near the defence table. His mother quietly wept at times as the other parents described their grief. She sobbed briefly when Maddie Mogen's grandmother said that her heart goes out to the other families, including Kohberger's.
Xana Kernodle's aunt, Kim Kernodle, said she forgave Kohberger and asked him to call her from prison, hoping he would answer her lingering questions about the killings.
'Bryan, I'm here today to tell you I have forgiven you, because I no longer could live with that hate in my heart,' she said. 'And for me to become a better person, I have forgiven you. And any time you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my number. I'm here. No judgment.'
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Police initially had no suspects in the killings, which terrified the rural western Idaho city of Moscow. Some students at both universities left mid-semester, taking the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe.
A knife sheath left near Mogen's body had a single source of male DNA on the button snap, investigators said, and surveillance videos showed a white Hyundai Elantra near the rental home around the time of the murders.
Police used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. Online shopping records showed Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier, along with a sheath like the one at the home.
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ABC News
24-07-2025
- ABC News
New police documents detail 'socially awkward', 'annoying' Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger
A convicted mass killer's co-workers, cellmates and former Tinder matches have labelled him "socially awkward" and "annoying" in newly released police documents. Bryan Kohberger was sentenced this week to life in prison for the 2022 murders of four Idaho university students inside their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21 years old, and Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20 years old, were all killed on November 13, 2022. Earlier this month Kohberger accepted a plea deal and admitted to the killings, offering no motive for the crime. Minutes after his sentencing, the Moscow Police Department released hundreds of pages of documents online. The files reveal new details about the case, spanning from the moment police arrived on the scene to the months following Kohberger's arrest. Roommates of the four students had already detailed hiding from a stranger clad in black in the early hours of that November morning. One of the two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen, told police she heard Ms Goncalves "scream and announce there was 'somebody' inside", according to a police report dated November 13. "[She] said she locked herself in her bedroom and continued to hear a commotion," the report said. Other documents described the aftermath of the brutal attack as officers entered the home. One report, dated November 21, 2022, described dozens of "mostly defensive" injuries to Ms Kernodle. An officer wrote it was "obvious an intense struggle had occurred" between Ms Kernodle and Kohberger. Authorities have previously suggested the other three victims were asleep when they were attacked. Ms Goncalves's sister, Alivea Goncalves, confronted Kohberger while delivering a victim impact statement at his sentencing hearing. "You want the truth? Here's the one you'll hate the most," she said. One tip among the thousands received by police came from a woman who believed she had matched with Kohberger on Tinder several months before the killings. The woman said Kohberger had told her he was a criminology student, and that she had discussed the murder of a friend in her town with him. "The conversation turned to horror movies and which ones [she] liked the most," the police offer wrote in the March 18, 2024 report. "[She] told Kohberger she liked the Rob Zombie Halloween movies. To this, [she] said Kohberger asked what she thought would be the worst way to die. "[She] said she thought it would be a knife. [She] said Kohberger then asked her something to the effect of 'like a Ka-Bar?'" A Ka-Bar brand knife sheath was found in the Moscow home following the killings. The prosecution said Kohberger bought the same brand of knife with the sheath and a sharpener in the months leading up to the killings. The murder weapon has never been found. The woman said Kohberger's questions "made her uncomfortable" and she eventually stopped speaking to him. Kohberger moved to Pullman, Washington, from Pennsylvania, to pursue a PhD in criminology at Washington State University. He had been called in on multiple occasions for inappropriate and troubling behaviour on campus. A former teaching assistant who shared an office with Kohberger at the university told police he thought Kohberger was "very intelligent but also selfish", describing him as "dishonest". The man added Kohberger began to talk "much more than usual" following the November murders. "[He] characterised Kohberger's conversations as those coming from someone who wanted to vent," the police offer wrote in the October 2023 report. "[He] stated Kohberger attempted to use his authority as a TA to inappropriately interact with female students." The former co-worker also noted injuries he saw on Kohberger's face and hands "on two separate occasions" in October and November 2022. "[He] stated one injury was a large scratch on Kohberger's face which [he] described as looking like the scratches from fingernails," the officer wrote. "[He] said he also saw wounds to Kohberger's knuckles on two separate occasions. "When [he] asked Kohberger about what happened to him, Kohberger replied he had been in a car accident." Other former staffers and students at Washington State University have recalled Kohberger often made female staff uncomfortable. One report noted a former student who described him sitting in "close proximity" to her "on the rare occasions he would attend class". "[The student] told me she thought Kohberger was socially awkward but was not able to provide me any other information about him," the police officer noted in his report. The student's mother contacted police after watching a Dateline special about the Moscow killings. During a segment talking about photos of university students found on Kohberger's phone, the woman said she identified several photos as being of her daughter and her friends. Dateline reported "dozens of photos" of women from Washington State University and the University of Idaho found on Kohberger's phone. The student told police she believed they had been taken from her public Instagram account. Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022. A police report included among the released documents stated his name first came to the attention of police on December 18. Within two years, police had begun to receive information from Idaho inmates regarding Kohberger's behaviour. In August, a video supplied to police by a prosecutor showed a male inmate talking about being in "max" security with Kohberger. Asked, "how is he" by another inmate, the man responded: "A f***ing weirdo." "He continued to say if he wasn't worried about further legal repercussions he would have physically assaulted Kohberger," the officer noted in the report. "[The other inmate] asked if Kohberger 'did it', referencing the homicides. [He] affirmed this statement and added he had pretty good judgement of people and '[Kohberger's] eyes tell a story.'" In September, another inmate housed at the Latah County Jail and kept in the cell next to Kohberger for several weeks spoke to police. "[He] told me Kohberger was highly intelligent and polite for the most part," the officer wrote. "[He] told me Kohberger quickly became annoying because of some of his habits. "He told me Kohberger would wash his hands dozens of times each day and would spend 45 minutes to an hour in the shower. "I asked [him] if Kohberger slept at night. He told me Kohberger would be awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day. "[He] said Kohberger did not mention his alleged offenses at all [and] was excited to move to Ada County [Jail]. "[The inmate] stated he had served time at Ada County and noted he did not think Kohberger would like to be there." Kohberger has been sentenced to four life sentences without the possibility of parole, and waived his right to an appeal. An Idaho Department of Corrections spokesperson told media he will face two weeks of evaluation before likely being transferred to the state's only maximum-security facility. In sentencing, Judge Steven Hippler labelled Kohberger a "coward" who "slithered through the sliding glass door at 1122 King Road". He added the motive behind the murders may never be known.
The Age
23-07-2025
- The Age
‘Less than human': Silent killer jailed for slaying four Idaho students
'He is a hollow vessel, something less than human,' Mortensen said. 'A body without empathy without remorse.' Mortensen and another surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, described crippling panic attacks and anxiety after the attack. 'I slept in my parents' room for almost a year, and had them double lock every door, set an alarm, and still check everywhere in the room just in case someone was hiding,' Funke wrote in a statement read by a friend. 'I have not slept through a single night since this happened. I constantly wake up in panic, terrified someone is breaking in or someone is here to hurt me, or I'm about to lose someone else that I love.' Alivea Goncalves's voice didn't waver as she asked Kohberger questions about the killings, including what her sister's last words were. She drew applause after belittling Kohberger, who remained expressionless as she insulted him. 'You didn't win, you just exposed yourself as the coward you are,' Alivea Goncalves said. 'You're a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser.' Kohberger's mother and sister also attended the hearing, sitting in the gallery near the defence table. His mother quietly wept at times as the other parents described their grief. She sobbed briefly when Maddie Mogen's grandmother said that her heart goes out to the other families, including Kohberger's. Xana Kernodle's aunt, Kim Kernodle, said she forgave Kohberger and asked him to call her from prison, hoping he would answer her lingering questions about the killings. 'Bryan, I'm here today to tell you I have forgiven you, because I no longer could live with that hate in my heart,' she said. 'And for me to become a better person, I have forgiven you. And any time you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my number. I'm here. No judgment.' Loading Police initially had no suspects in the killings, which terrified the rural western Idaho city of Moscow. Some students at both universities left mid-semester, taking the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe. A knife sheath left near Mogen's body had a single source of male DNA on the button snap, investigators said, and surveillance videos showed a white Hyundai Elantra near the rental home around the time of the murders. Police used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. Online shopping records showed Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier, along with a sheath like the one at the home.
Sydney Morning Herald
23-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Less than human': Silent killer jailed for slaying four Idaho students
'He is a hollow vessel, something less than human,' Mortensen said. 'A body without empathy without remorse.' Mortensen and another surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, described crippling panic attacks and anxiety after the attack. 'I slept in my parents' room for almost a year, and had them double lock every door, set an alarm, and still check everywhere in the room just in case someone was hiding,' Funke wrote in a statement read by a friend. 'I have not slept through a single night since this happened. I constantly wake up in panic, terrified someone is breaking in or someone is here to hurt me, or I'm about to lose someone else that I love.' Alivea Goncalves's voice didn't waver as she asked Kohberger questions about the killings, including what her sister's last words were. She drew applause after belittling Kohberger, who remained expressionless as she insulted him. 'You didn't win, you just exposed yourself as the coward you are,' Alivea Goncalves said. 'You're a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser.' Kohberger's mother and sister also attended the hearing, sitting in the gallery near the defence table. His mother quietly wept at times as the other parents described their grief. She sobbed briefly when Maddie Mogen's grandmother said that her heart goes out to the other families, including Kohberger's. Xana Kernodle's aunt, Kim Kernodle, said she forgave Kohberger and asked him to call her from prison, hoping he would answer her lingering questions about the killings. 'Bryan, I'm here today to tell you I have forgiven you, because I no longer could live with that hate in my heart,' she said. 'And for me to become a better person, I have forgiven you. And any time you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my number. I'm here. No judgment.' Loading Police initially had no suspects in the killings, which terrified the rural western Idaho city of Moscow. Some students at both universities left mid-semester, taking the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe. A knife sheath left near Mogen's body had a single source of male DNA on the button snap, investigators said, and surveillance videos showed a white Hyundai Elantra near the rental home around the time of the murders. Police used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. Online shopping records showed Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier, along with a sheath like the one at the home.
