In the Bryan Kohberger case, prosecutors have shed light on why they believe one roommate of the Idaho murder victims was left unharmed.
On November 13, 2022, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen were found murdered in their off-campus residence in Idaho.
Kohberger was subsequently charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection to their deaths.
Initially pleading not guilty to the murder charges, Kohberger later agreed to a plea deal, admitting to the murders, which allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
The plea deal resulted in Kohberger receiving a ten-year sentence for the burglary charge and four consecutive life sentences for the first-degree murder charges.
Dylan Mortensen, who lived on the same floor as Kernodle and Chapin in their shared Idaho residence, was not attacked by Kohberger.
Mortensen reported seeing the assailant that fateful November night after being disturbed by unusual noises.
In a report released this month, Moscow Police officer Mitch Nunes stated: “She peeked out of her bedroom and observed a male described as approximately six-feet tall, slim build, with a black ski mask leave the second-floor patio area.”
Prosecutor Bill Thompson explained to the Idaho Statesman why he thinks Kohberger chose not to harm Dylan.
He commented: “From what Dylan described, I have a hard time imagining that the killer did not see Dylan. At that point, he’d been in the house probably longer than he planned, and he had killed more people than he planned.
“It wouldn’t surprise us that the killer was scared at that point and decided they had to leave, not knowing if law enforcement already had been called.”
At the sentencing of Kohberger, Mortensen shared the devastating impact the incident has had on her life.
“What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break,” said Mortensen, who had just turned 19 before the tragic event.
“I couldn’t be alone. I had to sleep in my mom’s bed because I was too terrified to close my eyes. Terrified that if I blinked, someone might be there.”
She added: “It’s far beyond anxiety. It’s my body reliving everything over and over again. My nervous system never got the message that it is over, and it won’t let me forget what he did to them.
“People call me strong, they say I’m a survivor, but they don’t see what my new reality looks like. They don’t see the panic attacks, the hypervigilance, the exhaustion.”