It seemed like the perfect crime for a Netflix documentary. Four students of the University of Idaho were killed nearly three years ago. Two others that survived the killing spree on November 13, 2022, despite being present in the same building, reported seeing a man at 4.18 am who had “bushy eyebrows,” and wore black clothes and a ski mask, according to an Associated Press report.
Law enforcement had little going for them except a blood-stained knife sheath. After combing through surveillance footage, cell phone data and DNA matches, they charged Bryan Kohberger with the murder of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen. Then came a long drawn out legal battle where Kohberger, a former PhD student of criminology, continued to deny any involvement in the crime for two and a half years. Till Wednesday.
In a packed court house, the 30-year-old pled guilty to entering “the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder”. The about turn ending in him accepting charges of burglary and first-degree murder follow a cross-country hunt and a legal battle that started much before a trial that never will be.
While the admission of guilt has brought closure to some family members, it leaves many questions unanswered: the motive for the killings, the choice of victims, and the decision to leave two others unharmed. That is because Kohberger entered a plea deal in exchange for avoiding a death penalty, and a trial.
What happened that night
As long back as four months before the crime, Kohberger’s cell phone showed up on mobile towers near the scene of crime. On the date of the murders, it pinged between 10 pm and 4 am at nearby phone towers.
After parking his car behind the house, he entered the home of his victims just after 4 am, the lead prosecutor said. There were no signs of forced entry and he swiftly reached the third floor. Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were sleeping at the time, were his first two victims. After murdering them with a large knife, he left a knife sheath next to Mogen’s lifeless body.
Mother of Kaylee Goncalves, Kristi Goncalves, second from right, walks with family members including Steve Goncalves, left, to the Ada County Courthouse for Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal hearing on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo)
On the second floor, Xana Kernodle was waiting for her Door Dash order. But she came face to face with Kohberger who killed her and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, sleeping in the bedroom. Two others also present in the building remained unharmed. One of them saw Kohberger and was expected to testify.
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Fascination with crime
As a student of criminology, Kohberger had a deep interest in studying “crime scene processing”. “The defendant has studied crime. In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing … and he had that knowledge and skill,” said lead prosecutor Bill Thompson.
After committing the crime, Kohberger avoided the main roads to not get caught in surveillance cameras and changed his vehicle registration from Pennsylvania to Washington State. He also switched on his phone nearly half an hour after the crime reportedly happened. After police finally caught up with him, his home and office in Pullman, Washington were spotless.
“Spartan would be a kind characterisation. There was nothing there, nothing of evidentiary value was found,” Thompson said about his house. The car was “essentially disassembled inside”. “It was spotless. The defendant’s car had been meticulously cleaned inside,” Thompson said.
How Kohberger was caught
Despite not leaving many traces and intentionally scrubbing clean others, he left some leads.
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One, investigators found his phone signal in the area where the crime was committed. It didn’t establish that he entered the house, but it meant he was present there.
Family members talk to the media after Brian Kohberger, pled guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo)
Two, even as he took rural back roads to avoid detection, some surveillance cameras captured him speeding away. “The car almost loses control as it makes (a) corner,” the prosecutor said, according to a CNN report.
And third, the crucial evidence that tied Kohberger irrefutably to the crime was a Q-tip found outside his parent’s residence. The DNA traces on this used Q-tip sealed the prosecution’s evidence haul. It was identified “as coming from the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath that was found by Madison Mogen’s body on the bed”. That knife sheath had the blood of the first two victims and only one male.
Kohberger was arrested from his parent’s home where he was holidaying weeks after the crime and brought to Idaho to be charged. Nearly three years later, the parents and relatives of the victims have some closure. Kohberger will serve four consecutive life sentences.
