Autopsy reports for the four University of Idaho students killed by Bryan Kohberger have now been unsealed, and the chief medical examiner said each victim endured a ‘high degree of pain’.
The examinations were carried out by chief medical examiner Dr. Veena Singh. The documents were unsealed in Ada County court, where the case was moved after Kohberger asked for a change of venue.
The victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were killed in November 2022.
Dr. Singh, who had been expected to testify during the penalty phase if the case had proceeded without a guilty plea, wrote that the injuries to all four victims were “consistent” with a “Ka-Bar Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife”.
She also indicated that some wounds could have been inflicted by different parts of the suspected weapon. The reports state the victims died from multiple sharp-force injuries and that each was subjected to a “high degree of pain and/or suffering” during the early-morning attack.
Kernodle was the only victim described as not being in bed when the attack began, and she suffered defensive wounds to her hands and arms. Investigators also found a leather Ka-Bar sheath in the bed where Goncalves and Mogen were located, and prosecutors have said Kohberger’s DNA was found on it.
The newly available autopsy reports, which do not contain photographs, were released alongside other court documents as additional material in the case is made public.
Kohberger was a criminology Ph.D. student at Washing State University at the time of the killings. He initially pled guilty and later accepted a plea deal in which he admitted to the murders and avoided the death penalty.
He is now serving four consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 10 years.
The 31-year-old is incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security prison and is expected to remain there for the rest of his life.
In court, Kohberger did not address the proceedings and declined an opportunity to speak, prompting some in attendance to label him a ‘coward’.
He has not offered an explanation for the killings, and investigators have said they were unable to identify a connection between him and the victims. Authorities have not established a motive, and he reportedly had no violent criminal record or prior convictions before his arrest.
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