Dylan Mortensen is asking a judge to blur her face in upcoming police video releases, saying years of public harassment have already made her unrecognizable to herself.
Mortensen, 22, the surviving roommate of the four University of Idaho students murdered in November 2022, filed an Oct. 29 affidavit in Latah County court describing how her life “has changed in ways I never could have imagined,” She told police she saw a strange man with bushy eyebrows and a ski mask in the Moscow, Idaho home the night her roommates were killed.
The “amount of attention and hostility” she has received has “affected nearly every aspect” of her existence, Mortensen wrote in the sworn statement. She said that has forced her and her family to move nine times while enduring “years of hateful messages and threats.”
Mortensen said she’s received “numerous unsolicited messages from strangers accusing me of participating in my friends’ murders, blaming me for their deaths, and making cruel statements about what they believe should happen to me.” She now uses an alias at work, introduces herself with a different name socially, and avoids her real name on package deliveries to keep her location hidden.
The affidavit supports her motion to intervene in a public records case that could soon expose more of her identity. Judge Megan Marshall last month ordered the city of Moscow to disclose investigative materials to EWU Media, a crime documentary company that sued for them. Marshall found the city hadn’t properly demonstrated specific records were exempt under the Idaho Public Records Act, noting the law doesn’t broadly shield witness identities.
Mortensen is not trying to block release entirely. She pointed out that people can already hear her statements to law enforcement through recordings that have previously been made public.
“I am already being recognized despite the privacy protections currently in place, and I worry that making additional footage of my face available would make it even easier for strangers to identify me in everyday situations,” she wrote.
She drew a sharp distinction between existing images and what the new release would contain. She knows photographs and videos of her already circulate online, and that her identity is publicly known. But she believes “there is a significant difference between the photos and videos people have already seen of me and the lengthy police interviews and body-camera recordings taken during one of the most traumatic and vulnerable periods of my life.”
Mortensen warned that extended footage showing how she talks, reacts and expresses herself would make her more recognizable in daily life. She also objected to her facial expressions becoming material for public dissection.
“I do not want my facial expressions used as fodder for people to analyze, criticize or make accusations,” she stated.
Her filing paints a picture of a young woman trying to reclaim ordinary existence against extraordinary circumstances. She wants to work, meet people, attend concerts and celebrate with friends without constant fear of confrontation.
“I want to be able to work, meet new people, attend concerts, celebrate important moments with friends, and enjoy ordinary experiences without constantly worrying about being recognized or confronted,” Mortensen wrote.
Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of the Nov. 13, 2022 stabbing deaths of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, was sentenced to life in prison last year after pleading guilty. He is currently attempting to withdraw that plea. No motive has ever emerged for the killings, and it remains unclear why Mortensen and a second roommate were spared while the four others died.
The court has not yet ruled on Mortensen’s motion to intervene and request for facial blurring. The city of Moscow, EWU Media and Mortensen’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.