It was just before midday on November 13, 2022 when a 911 call came in that would forever change the college town of Moscow and the lives of a group of students who lived there.
‘Hi, something is happening, something happened in our house. We don’t know what. We have…’ came the voice of a young woman.
Over the next few frantic minutes, the phone was passed between sobbing young people as they tried to piece together what had taken place.
They told the dispatcher that one of their friends was unconscious – she wasn’t waking up or breathing. A roommate said she had seen a man inside their home in the early hours of the morning.
But when officers arrived at 1122 King Road and entered the three-story student home, they found a bloodbath.
The bodies of a young couple, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, lay in a bedroom on the second floor.
One floor above police found two more victims – best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves – in the same bed.
Bryan Kohberger (at a court hearing in Moscow, Idaho, in October 2023) is staring down the prospect of the firing squad if convicted
All four had been brutally stabbed to death.
What followed was six weeks of fear and speculation before an arrest was finally made more than 2,500 miles away in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania.
Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old criminology PhD student at Washington State University just over the Idaho border into Pullman, Washington, was charged with the murders.
He has pled not guilty but if convicted at his trial this August, Kohberger faces the firing squad as the state of Idaho shakes up its execution methods.
The accused killer is fighting to have the death penalty taken off the table, citing his autism diagnosis.
To this day, many questions about the horrific case remain unanswered, including what connection Kohberger may have had to the victims and what could have motivated him to embark on the chilling rampage.
But while there are gaps in information, many details about the case are known and continue to emerge as the trial date looms.
DNA on knife sheath
One of the key pieces of evidence allegedly tying Kohberger to the murders is a brown leather Ka-Bar knife sheath that investigators believe the killer left behind at the scene.
The sheath, featuring a US Marine Corps seal, was found in the bed next to the butchered body of 20-year-old Mogen.
In one bedroom on the second floor lay the bodies of young couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin (left). One floor above lay two more victims – best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves (right) – together in the same bed
Investigators on the scene of the quadruple murders at 1122 King Road, Moscow
Idaho State Police officers remove bloodied mattresses, bed frames and other possessions from the Moscow home
According to prosecutors, a single source of male DNA was found on the button snap of the sheath.
This touch DNA was traced back to Kohberger using Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG). The knife itself has never been found.
Forensic DNA expert and John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Dr Mechthild Prinz told the Daily Mail that single source DNA allows for a much stronger conclusion to be drawn than when there is a mixture.
‘Statistically it is not possible that this is just a coincidence,’ she claims of the likelihood that it is Kohberger’s DNA on the sheath.
In a closed-door hearing in January, testimony revealed how the DNA profile was identified just days after the murders – but that it did not match anyone already known to law enforcement.
Using IGG, forensic DNA lab Othram was able to find a distant relative of Kohberger who had previously submitted his information into a genetic genealogy database. But the relative refused to share his DNA with Idaho police.
The FBI then took over the testing and, following its own investigation, landed on Kohberger, handing Moscow Police a ‘tip’ to look into him.
Trash was taken from Kohberger’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he had traveled for the holidays, and tested for DNA.
DNA was found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath (seen in a stock image) left behind at the scene
According to the affidavit, this testing found that Kohberger’s father could not be excluded as the murder suspect’s biological father whereas at least 99.9998% of the male population could be.
Following Kohberger’s arrest, a DNA sample was taken from him which showed he was a ‘statistical match’ to the DNA on the sheath.
Kohberger’s defense has fought – so far unsuccessfully – to strike this evidence from his trial, arguing the state’s use of IGG was unconstitutional, that the state did not correctly document the method in search warrants and that the FBI used genetic genealogy databases that it should not have access to.
Judge Steven Hippler denied the request to have the evidence tossed. Following this, the defense added a lawyer with forensic DNA expertise to the team, suggesting they may continue to challenge the evidence and the methods used to collect it.
Prinz said this was a ‘pretty novel use’ of IGG as it is a technique ‘usually used for cold cases where every other avenue has been exhausted’.
Regardless, she added: ‘I do think the train has left the station in the sense that it’s a very powerful tool to locate a perpetrator based on the DNA he or she left behind at the crime scene.
‘The IGG did lead to the right person. Did he kill them? I don’t know but it did identify the source of the DNA on the sheath. Even if [investigators] didn’t use it properly it still led to the right person.’
Kohberger’s team is now expected to argue his DNA may have been planted to frame him for the murders.
According to prosecutors, the accused quadruple killer will not deny that the DNA belongs to him but will claim ‘the knife sheath itself could have been planted by the real perpetrator’.
It is not clear if the defense plans to actually name an alternative murder suspect or how they might argue the killer was able to access his DNA.
DNA from three people found under victim’s fingernails
While the DNA on the knife sheath led to Kohberger, the defense said there was also other DNA recovered from the crime scene.
A bombshell court filing recently revealed that DNA evidence from three unknown individuals was found under Mogen’s left fingernails.
Testing showed a three-person mixture and, when compared to Kohberger, this came back inconclusive – meaning he could neither be confirmed or eliminated as the source.
Prinz explained that it is ‘quite common’ for people to have a mixture of DNA under their nails, especially from people they live with or are close to.
Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke
‘The question [from this type of evidence] is whether the DNA under the fingernails is from the attacker or is it from casual contact,’ she said.
While DNA under the nails can sometimes indicate a victim fought back and scratched their attacker, Prinz explained that people pick up unexplained DNA under their nails by simply touching items.
‘Living in New York, you touch the subway pole and pick up people’s DNA on your hands. Or you may pick up DNA from a deli worker when you buy something or from a guest who uses the towel in your house or by using a coworker’s pen. There’s a lot of big transfer possibilities,’ she said.
Whether or not a DNA profile can be identified depends on the quality of the mixture, she added.
Prinz said it’s ‘a given’ that one of the three DNA profiles comes from Mogen.
Court documents revealed that two hypotheses were tested with the three people. Mogen, Goncalves and one unknown unrelated person. Then Mogen and two unrelated persons.
Kohberger’s defense argues that at least four unnamed individuals were tested as well as Kohberger and all were inconclusive.
Kohberger and his attorney Anne Taylor in court in June 2023. The defense has revealed that there was also other DNA recovered from the crime scene
The defense also claims additional testing carried out by the defense has now excluded Kohberger as the source of the DNA and proven exculpatory.
However, Prinz said that even if Kohberger is excluded as the source of the DNA under Mogen’s nails, this is not exculpatory.
‘Even if his DNA is not under her fingernails, this doesn’t mean he didn’t kill her,’ she says, adding: ‘An absence of evidence is not the absence of contact.’
Similarly, Prinz added that while it would be helpful to determine the source of the DNA under Mogen’s nails, this wouldn’t necessarily point to the killer.
DNA from two unknown men at the scene
The defense has also revealed that blood from two unknown men was found at the crime scene.
Blood from one man – known only as ‘Unknown Male D’ – was found on a glove outside 1122 King Road.
Blood from the second man – ‘Unknown Male B’ – was found on the handrail between the first and second floor of the home.
During the hearing in January, Moscow Police Detective Brett Payne – the lead investigator on the case – testified that police did not pursue the identities of those two men because they were following the lead on the knife sheath.
The three-story home where the four students were slain. The property has since been demolished
‘That would be important to find out who that is from as it does indicate that other people were there,’ Prinz said. ‘This sounds like this could be an important piece of information.’
The forensic DNA expert added that this could suggest the suspect ‘did not commit this crime alone.’
‘I can see the defense raising this issue because obviously it does occur that prosecutors sometimes get tunnel vision and then stop further investigations,’ she explained.
That said, she pointed out that DNA testing cannot tell you when the DNA was left there.
‘We don’t know if they were there during the commission of the crime. DNA testing can’t tell you how old the samples are or when they were deposited.’
As a student home known to host parties and friends, it is also not surprising to find DNA from other people there, she added.
Surviving roommate’s account
One of the key witnesses in the case is expected to be one of the surviving roommates who came face-to-face with a masked intruder inside the student home moments after the murders.
Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke lived in the student home with Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle and survived the attack.
Between 4.22am and 4.24am on the morning of November 13, 2022, survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke exchanged 17 frantic text messages
Mortensen, whose bedroom was on the second floor, told investigators she was woken by noises in the home at around 4am and heard a voice say ‘there’s someone here’.
She also heard what sounded like whimpering coming from Kernodle’s room and a man’s voice saying: ‘It’s ok, I’m going to help you.’
Mortensen told investigators she had opened her door and peeked outside three times.
The third time, she said she saw a masked man with ‘bushy eyebrows’ and dressed in black walk past her door and head towards the sliding back doors of the home.
Mortensen then made a series of frantic calls and texts to her roommates, a new court document showed. Only Funke answered.
Mortensen then exchanged a series of texts with Funke between 4.19am and 4.21am, where she described seeing someone in something like a ‘ski mask’ and with something ‘over is for head and little nd mouth.’
Around eight hours later, the 911 call was made.
The defense already appears to be laying the groundwork to try to discredit Mortensen and her account and has asked the judge to block any evidence referencing ‘bushy eyebrows’ at trial.
The white Hyundai Elantra captured on surveillance footage close to the student home at the time of the murders
Bryan Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington, just seven miles from the crime scene
Court documents revealed Mortensen did not recognize Kohberger as the man inside the home when shown a photo after his arrest.
The defense is also pointing to some variations in her statements – including where she claimed the intruder was carrying a ‘vacuum-type object’ – and comments where she said she had been drinking and her memory was hazy.
The white Hyundai Elantra
Prior to Kohberger’s arrest, the investigation was zeroing in on a white Hyundai Elantra captured on surveillance footage near the King Road home.
According to the affidavit, the accused killer’s vehicle left his home in Pullman and traveled to Moscow at the time of the murders, before returning again.
Surveillance footage first captured the vehicle at around 2.44am on the morning of the murders traveling from the WSU campus in the direction of Moscow.
The vehicle was then captured driving around the student home three times starting at around 3.29am.
The fourth time shows the vehicle entering the area around 4.04am. Around 16 minutes later at 4.20am, it was caught on camera driving away from the home ‘at a high rate of speed’ in the direction of Pullman.
Footage then captured the car returning to the WSU campus at around 5.25am.
In the affidavit, the state revealed that investigators were on the lookout in Pullman for a vehicle matching that seen in the footage.
The vehicle’s path taken at the time of the murders – from Pullman, Washington, to Moscow, Idaho and back again
The possible route of the vehicle based on the cellphone data, according to the affidavit
Bryan Kohberger seen in bodycam footage during a traffic stop in his white Hyundai Elantra in Pullman, one month before the murders
A police officer came across Kohberger’s vehicle and noted he had ‘bushy eyebrows’.
Around a month after the murders, Kohberger and his father drove that same car from Pullman back to Pennsylvania for the holidays.
In court documents, Kohberger has revealed a vague alibi explaining his movements that night. He has claimed he was driving around alone at night, looking at the stars.
Cellphone data and online searches
While it is unclear what connection the accused killer may have to the victims, cellphone data allegedly shows that Kohberger may have stalked the King Road home at least a dozen times in the lead-up to the murders – and then turned his phone off while committing the crime to try to cover his tracks.
According to the affidavit, his cellphone data showed Kohberger left his home in Pullman at around 2.47am on the morning of the murders – then turned his phone off or placed it in airplane mode.
The phone didn’t ping again until 4.48am when it hit a tower around Idaho state highway south of Moscow and continued to ping off towers along the route back to Pullman. Investigators said his phone matches the movement of the Elantra.
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen together. Mogen had DNA from three individuals under her nails
Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin together. It remains unclear what connection the accused killer may have to the victims
At around 9am, his phone pinged again around the King Road home – indicating he returned to the scene of the crime around five hours after the murders and before the victims were discovered, the affidavit stated.
In the months leading up to the murders, Kohberger’s cellphone had also allegedly pinged in the area around the student home at least 12 times – usually late at night or in the early hours of the morning.
A trove of other data has also been submitted as evidence in the case including bank records for some of the victims and Kohberger’s Amazon shopping list.
It is not yet clear what this data might reveal, however Dateline previously reported that the suspect bought a Ka-Bar knife on Amazon in 2022.
