The murders of four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022 shook the town of Moscow and drew national attention, with the local police chief later describing the investigation as a ‘very complex’ case. Now, Netflix’s The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare is revisiting the tragedy and highlighting new details.
Moscow’s close-knit community was left reeling after Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were discovered dead at the students’ off-campus home. As the story spread, the FBI received a flood of tips and the case quickly became one of the most closely followed in the country.
After weeks of intense public speculation, authorities announced the arrest of doctoral student Bryan Kohberger seven weeks later. In July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, avoiding a trial and the death penalty. He was sentenced later that month to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 10 years for burglary.
As of late July 2026, Kohberger has asked the court to let him withdraw his guilty plea, arguing through his attorneys that the deal should be set aside. The request does not change the sentence already imposed, but it has added a new twist to a case many had assumed was closed.
The case is back in the spotlight following the release of Netflix’s The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare on July 29. Executive producer Joe Berlinger explained to Tudum that the focus was always on the young people who lost their lives, saying: “I’m the father of two daughters who each had recently finished their collegiate experiences around the time of these murders, and it just struck a very deep nerve.”
Below is a timeline of the major developments in the case.
Earlier that night, Kernodle and Chapin went to a party at Chapin’s fraternity, Sigma Chi. At the same time, Goncalves and Mogen spent part of the evening at the Corner Club sports bar.
1.45am – Kernodle and Chapin return to the King Road house.
1.56am – Goncalves and Mogen arrive back at the property.
2.44am – CCTV at Washington State University captures Kohberger’s Hyundai sedan. Not long after, the same vehicle is seen traveling toward the route linking Pullman, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho.
4am – Investigators believe Bryan Kohberger entered the house.
4.17am – Audio from a security camera picks up a barking dog, voices and what appears to be a thud. Around this period, surviving housemate Dylan Mortensen wakes up and hears a man say: “It’s OK, Kaylee, I’m here for you.” She later reports hearing crying and seeing a masked man inside the home.
4.19am – Mortensen tries calling Kernodle, Goncalves and Mogen, but nobody answers. She then begins messaging Bethany Funke, saying she’s ‘freaking out’ after seeing a man in a ‘ski mask’. Mortensen then goes into Funke’s room and the two lock themselves inside.
11.58am – Mortensen calls her friend Emily Alandt, who comes to the house with her boyfriend Hunter Johnson. Johnson finds the bodies of Chapin and Kernodle and calls 911.
Initial autopsy findings indicate that all four students were killed with a large knife.
Police announce they want to identify and speak with anyone inside a white Hyundai Elantra from 2011-13.
Kohberger is arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of first-degree murder along with burglary. Investigators later say DNA recovered from a knife sheath connected him to the scene, while phone data and vehicle tracking were also used in the case.
At his arraignment, Kohberger does not speak when asked for his plea, and the judge records a not guilty plea for him.
Prosecutors confirm that they intend to pursue the death penalty.
The King Road home is later demolished on December 28, 2023, a move seen as part of the community’s effort to begin healing.
In court filings, Kohberger’s defence argues that phone mast evidence places him miles from Moscow, Idaho when the killings happened.
His lawyers also claim he shows traits of autism spectrum disorder and argue that executing him would be unconstitutional.
Only weeks before the trial is due to start, Kohberger pleads guilty to burglary and four counts of first-degree murder.
He is then sentenced to four consecutive life terms, in addition to 10 years for burglary.
For the first time, he faces the victims’ families in court as impact statements are read aloud.
Goncalves’ sister Alivea tells him that if her sister hadn’t been sleeping when he attacked, ‘Kaylee would’ve kicked your f**king a**’.
Mortensen also addresses him, saying she has experienced debilitating panic attacks since that night and that he has taken away her ‘ability to trust the world’.
Kohberger later says he wants to withdraw his guilty plea and challenge the conviction.
He tells the New York Times: “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.”