Four students at the University of Idaho were brutally stabbed to death in their sleep on November 13th, 2022. The victims, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves, three of whom lived in the house where the murders took place, were all victims of what the police initially called a “targeted attack” by primary suspect Bryan Kohberger. Kohberger was arrested in late December after weeks of investigation and at least 19,000 tips from the community following the case’s explosion on social media. Kohberger is a 28-year-old Ph.D. student of criminology at Washington State University, just 8 miles from the murder scene (New York Times). Here is everything that is known about this unique case so far, beginning with a timeline.
On the night of the murder, two pairs of roommates went out separately and arrived home around 2am (New York Times). Kernodle and Chapin arrived home first, followed by Goncalves and Mogen, according to the affidavit. The two other roommates, who were not murdered, were also in the home at the time of the stabbings. Footage in the neighborhood shows a white Hyundai Elantra driving around the murder scene three times just before 3:30am. Kernodle received a DoorDash delivery at 4am, the same time one of the surviving roommates claimed to have been woken up by what sounded like her dog upstairs. At roughly 4:04am, the Elantra made its 4th round around the house (Time Magazine). Phone records show that Kernodle was on Tik Tok until 4:12am. Sometime after 4am, crying could be heard from Kernodle’s room along with a male voice saying something along the lines of “It’s ok, I’m going to help you,” her surviving roommate told police. Court documents also report that a security camera from a nearby home captured audio of a whimper, thumping, and a dog barking. At around 4:20am, the Elantra is seen speeding away from the home. Police did not arrive on the scene until noon later that day when they received a suspicious persons call and found the four dead of stab wounds in separate rooms of the house (Time Magazine).
Moving to the arrest of suspect Bryan Kohberger, police say that following the murder Kohberger left town for a Pennsylvania family home. A Pennsylvania SWAT team broke down the door of the house on December 30th, formally arresting and charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, and one count of burglary. However, it was a long road to get to his arrest. Police were able to narrow down on Kohberger once they broadened the search for the white Elantra, finding one at Washington State University registered to Kohberger that matched the description from the videos. Authorities also said that a surviving roommate claimed that Kohberger matched the description of who they had seen in the home on November 13th. Phone records also placed Kohberger at the scene at 4:48am, according to the affidavit. Agents say that before Kohberger’s arrest, he was seen wearing surgical gloves outside multiple times and deeply cleaning his car. Authorities obtained DNA from Kohberger’s trash bins at his home in Pennsylvania and were able later to match the sample with that on the knife sheath from the murders. Kohberger claims to be surprised by the arrest and is still pleading not guilty. According to the New York Times, Kohberger “looks forward to being exonerated.”
What many investigators find most interesting about the case is Kohberger’s current occupation as a teaching assistant at Washington State University, obtaining a Ph.D. in criminology. The question asked by many on social media has become: was Kohberger studying criminology to learn how to commit a crime? Students of Kohberger have shared on social media, specifically Tik Tok, the unique assignments they have been given and Kohberger’s thrilling interest in violent crimes. As this case actively continues to unfold, more information comes to light and poses interest for people all across the country as the Idaho murders continue to headline national news.