Prosecutors seeking justice for the tragic deaths of four University of Idaho students have presented a court with a harrowing recount of the events surrounding their killings. Bryan Kohberger, who has admitted guilt as part of a plea deal, is accused of these heinous crimes.
The victims, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves, were fatally attacked in November 2022 during the early morning hours at a residence in Moscow, Idaho. All were students at the University of Idaho.
Kohberger, who was formerly pursuing a doctorate in criminal justice, was apprehended in December 2022. On Wednesday, July 2, he officially entered a guilty plea on four counts of first-degree murder and one charge of burglary.
During the plea hearing, prosecutors detailed the evidence they had amassed against Kohberger, recounting what transpired on the night of November 13, 2022.
The evidence presented by prosecutors indicated that Kohberger’s connection to the crime began months prior. In March 2022, while residing at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, Kohberger purchased a military-grade Ka Bar knife and sheath online.
This knife was later identified as the murder weapon, with DNA evidence linking Kohberger to a knife sheath discovered at the crime scene, even though the knife itself has not been found.
Three months after acquiring the knife, Kohberger relocated to Pullman, Washington, a short distance from the crime scene in Moscow.
While pursuing his PhD in criminology at Washington State University, Kohberger’s phone records showed activity in the vicinity of the Idaho home where the students were murdered, starting shortly after his move.
Between July and November, Kohberger’s phone pinged off the local cell tower 23 times during late-night hours, though there is no evidence of direct interaction with the victims.
On the night of the murders, Kohberger’s cellphone was switched off in Pullman around 2 a.m. It reactivated just before 5 a.m. in the Moscow area.
Prosecutors stated that, if the case had gone to trial, they intended to present surveillance footage of Kohberger’s vehicle, coupled with cellphone data, to place him near the crime scene.
Security footage reportedly captured Kohberger’s White Hyundai parked behind the students’ residence. Kohberger allegedly entered the premises through a sliding kitchen door around 4 a.m.
Xana Kernodle, the first to be confronted, died on the stairs. Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson explained, “Her room was not on the third floor, it was on the second floor. He encountered Xana, and he ended up killing her, also with a large knife.”
Kohberger then allegedly proceeded to stab Ethan Chapin while he was asleep in Kernodle’s room and subsequently killed Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves on the third floor.
Following the attack, two other housemates who survived reportedly glimpsed a man with ‘bushy eyebrows’ in the hallway.
Kohberger’s vehicle was later seen leaving the neighborhood on security footage.
By 9 a.m. on November 13, cell phone records indicated Kohberger returned briefly to the Moscow area before heading back home by 9:30 a.m.
In the subsequent days, Kohberger reportedly traveled to Lewiston, Idaho, where prosecutors suspect he might have disposed of the murder weapon.
He was also found to have attempted to erase his online purchasing history and re-registered his vehicle from Pennsylvania to Idaho.
Attorney Thompson noted, “Mr. Kohberger proceeded to finish his semester of studies at Washington State University and return to Pennsylvania for the holidays.”
During the hearing, Judge Steven Hippler confirmed Kohberger’s agreement to a plea deal, which avoids the death penalty but exposes him to four consecutive life sentences without parole, along with a 10-year sentence for burglary.
Judge Hippler inquired, “Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” Kohberger responded, “Yes.”