I usually do not cover current cases, but the Idaho killings upset me. I grew up in a college town similar in size to Moscow. The city would be boring if it were not for the students. I can’t imagine something this devastating occurring there. Your kids should be safe at college. Unfortunately, we know that is not always the case.
Numerous outlets are reporting this crime, so if you see that I have any missing vital information, please post said information in the comments below. I will keep this post updated as the police provide more information.
I updated my thoughts on the arrest under “True Crime Diva’s Thoughts
UPDATE, DEC. 31, 2022, PER NBC News:
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, a resident of Pullman, Washington, was apprehended in Albrightsville in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 2,500 miles from the Idaho campus, officials said.
He’ll be charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary, for allegedly breaking into the Moscow, Idaho, home with the intent to commit a felony, authorities said.
DNA evidence played a key role in linking the murders to Kohberger, two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.
MOSCOW, Idaho – One month ago today, Moscow police made a gruesome discovery – the bodies of four college students viciously stabbed to death overnight.
The recent horrifying killings have taken the internet by storm and caught the attention of Reddit and Websleuths users who are now trying to solve a crime the police have not.
A 911 call came into the Moscow Police Department at 11:58 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, regarding an unconscious person at 1122 King Road, an off-campus student rental.
When officers arrived, they found four University of Idaho students brutally murdered on the second and third floors of the six-bedroom home.
Police identified the victims as Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Xana Kernodle.
Chapin, 20, a freshman majoring in recreation, sport, and tourism management, was a Sigma Chi fraternity member and a triplet.
Goncalves, 21, was a senior majoring in general studies. She was from Rathdrum.
Kernodle, 20, was from Post Falls and was a junior marketing major. She belonged to the Pi Beta Phi sorority and was dating Chapin.
Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, was a senior marketing major. She and Goncalves had been best friends since childhood.
On Saturday, Nov. 12, Goncalves and Mogen visited Corner Club, a sports bar at 202 N. Main St., from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Afterward, they stopped at a food truck on Main Street called Grub Wandering Kitchen, aka “the Grub Truck.” The girls received a ride home from a third party, returning around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Video footage from the food truck shows Mogen possibly arguing with a guy in a white hoodie and brown jacket. They may have “ditched” a “super nice” man who was “trying to help them get home safe,” according to an eyewitness and reported by Newsweek.
Chapin and Kernodle were seen at a Sigma Chi party and arrived home between 1:45 a.m. and 2 a.m. Chapin did not live in the home. The couple’s whereabouts are unknown between 9 p.m. on Nov. 12th and 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13th, police said.
Investigators were hopeful for a quick arrest. However, the case remains unsolved one month after the killings.
Here’s what we know so far through numerous police press conferences and news articles.
Two roommates were in the house during the killings but slept through the attacks. Their bedrooms were on the ground level. Someone placed the 911 call using one of their cell phones. Police would not confirm the caller’s identity but later said the dispatcher spoke to several people before officers arrived at the crime scene.
During a recent memorial service for the victims, the surviving roommates “spoke about the killings for the first time in a written message read aloud by a local pastor,” CBS reported. They identified themselves as Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen.
Police later said Funke and Mortensen “called friends to the residence because they thought one of the victims had passed out and was not waking up.” Police do not believe those people were involved in the slayings.
The murder weapon has not been found. Police described it as a large knife with a fixed blade; some believe the killer may have kept it.
Goncalves placed multiple calls to the cell phone of her ex-boyfriend, Jack DuCoeur, who she dated in 2019. The timing of the calls places the time of the murders sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Police cleared DuCoeur of any involvement in the crime.
Investigators questioned the man in the white hoodie seen in the food truck video and the person who drove the girls home that night. They do not believe they are responsible for the quadruple murder.
Police believe the murders were targeted “but have not concluded if the target was the residence or its occupants.”
So far, police have collected “hundreds of pieces of information,” taken thousands of crime scene photographs, and conducted 150 interviews and multiple 3-D scans of the home.
Police stated on Dec. 1 that investigators learned of a sixth person listed on the home’s lease. However, they “do not believe that individual was present during the incident.” They did not reveal that person’s identity.
CBS reports, “As of Dec. 6, police said they had received 2,645 tips by email, 2,770 over the phone, and 1,084 digital media submissions.”
Police expressed in a press release on Dec. 7 they were seeking a 2011-2013 white Hyundai Elantra in the area when the murders occurred and that the owner or occupants may have vital information about the killings.
There have been reports that Goncalves had a stalker. But investigators “have pursued hundreds of pieces of information related to this topic and have not been able to verify or identify a stalker,” police said on Nov. 22.
Newsweek reported on Dec. 12, “Chris McDonough, a former homicide detective who hosts a podcast called The Interview Room, spoke about discovering the glove while visiting the crime scene in a video live-streamed on his YouTube channel on Nov. 28.”
McDonough: “I actually found a glove and turned it, I pointed it out to the officer who was there securing the scene, and they came, and they collected it.”
McDonough did not know if the glove had been there since the murders.
What was he doing at the crime scene? More importantly, why did the police allow a FORMER cop access to the crime scene?
Police posted a press release video on Dec. 12. Captain Roger Lanier of the Moscow Police Department said investigators sorted through numerous tips last weekend. They have been re-interviewing people based on a few new tips to clarify some of the information received.
People have submitted videos to the FBI digital tipline that include videos of the area around King Road and from gas stations.
“We’ve been trying to use those videos to garner new information. There is hours and hours of video,” Lanier said.
Detectives continue investigating this horrific quadruple murder.
Anyone with information regarding the killings can call 208-883-7180 or email [email protected].
True Crime Diva’s Thoughts
Updated Dec. 31, 2022, to Reflect the Arrest
I’m so excited investigators made the arrest! I cannot wait to find out Kohberger’s motive in the killings. It sounds like the guy is educated and on his way to a great career. WTF happened? Was this random, or were the victims chosen? Does Kohberger have any connections to the victims or the two surviving roommates? I’m anxious to learn more info as time passes.
Original Thoughts on the Case When Article was Published
I’ve been following this case from the beginning. I am surprised there has not been an arrest yet. The crime seems easily solvable, yet it’s been difficult for investigators. I will keep this post updated as the police provide more information.
Whoever killed them was rage-filled; I would not be surprised if they got cut during the attacks. Sometimes during the stabbing process, blood gushes down the handle, making it slippery to hold, often resulting in the assailant slicing his hand.
I find it hard to believe the killer(s) managed to stab four people multiple times without injuries. Maybe the killer(s) was lucky.
There are six bedrooms in the house. The killer had to know which bedrooms belonged to the victims. I say this because of the two surviving roommates. The killer had likely been in that home before and knew at least one of the victims.
Were there signs of forced entry? Where did the killer(s) gain access to the home? Front or back entrance? What the hell was the motive? Where was the 6th roommate?
No sexual assault or robbery also points to a personal, targeted attack. However, why kill the other three if the attack was against only one of the victims?
How could all four victims be viciously murdered without Mortenson and Funke HEARING ANYTHING? No groans, grappling, or anything? Some have said, “Well, if they had been drinking, they probably fell into a deep sleep.” Yes, that is true.
Ryan Augusta — a healthcare worker and local business owner who now lives in Genesee, Idaho — told Fox News Digital in an interview that when he lived on the first floor of the home on King Road in 2019, unless his roommate was playing the television loudly on the second floor, he typically “heard nothing” from the second and third floors.
Regardless, when Funke and Mortensen called 911 hours after the killings, they said they thought the person had passed out, and they could not wake them.
I’m sorry, WHAT? There had to be blood on and around the victims and blood spatter on the beds, floors, or walls. Stabbing is a messy crime. The killer stabbed each victim multiple times!!
But let’s say for a moment they were possibly blind and truly believed the person was unconscious; why did they call others to the home instead of 911? WTF? I want to know why the police do not believe they were responsible.
I would not rule out a female being involved in the murders.
What were Goncalves’ texts about that she sent her ex-boyfriend?
How can the police not know what Chapin and Kernoodle did for FOUR HOURS? Why haven’t any witnesses come forward with the info? Are you telling me these two young people did not use their cell phones during that time?
What was the food truck argument about? Police interviewed the man and ruled him out. But what about the bigger bearded guy next to him?
The hoodie guy can be seen in the background at the beginning, standing near a building. He seems to be watching the girls. The big guy is talking to another guy and a girl in a white coat. During the argument, the big guy is standing next to Mr. Hoodie and appears to be part of the argument. Yet, I couldn’t find anything about him or whether the police even questioned him. What about the girl in the white coat and the other guy with the beard?
I think the men were probably saying stupid shit out loud about the girls, and that pissed off Madison. Kaylee seems oblivious as she is on her phone. At one point, it looks like she’s taking a picture of the food truck workers. But who was Kaylee texting? Or was she checking social media? She was constantly on her phone while at the food truck. Kaylee does speak with a girl she knows at one point. But mostly, she’s on her phone.
After the girls walk away from the food truck, the bearded dude points at them and says something to Hoodie; then, Hoodie starts to follow them, waves goodbye, and walks north, out of camera view.
There were numerous people at the food truck that night, and I assume the police investigated all of them. But I wonder: was the killer there lurking in the background?
I don’t think the hoodie guy was involved in the murders. It doesn’t look like there was much of an argument after watching the entire video. I don’t believe an argument would result in multiple murders.
Whoever killed the students is probably feeling pretty lucky right now. I wonder if they had killed before because, so far, this is damn near a perfect murder.
Let’s discuss this! Comment below to get the conversation started!
