BOISE, Idaho (Court TV) — A new filing in the case against Bryan Kohberger is offering new insight into the final movements of the four college students he’s alleged to have murdered.
This photo released by the State of Idaho, which prosecutors claim to have been taken from Bryan Kohberger’s phone, shows Kohberger, accused of slaying 4 University of Idaho students, gesturing in a selfie on Nov. 13, 2022, hours after the homicides occurred. (State of Idaho via AP)
Kohberger is charged with fatally stabbing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home off-campus in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. The victims all attended the University of Idaho. Chapin was dating Kernodle, who lived with Mogen, Goncalves and two other roommates at the home where they were killed.
Prosecutors have sought to use text messages sent between the two surviving roommates, identified as D.M. and B.F. in court documents, to illustrate the terror and confusion inside the house during the attack. In the messages, which were sent between 4:22 a.m. and 4:26 a.m., the girls repeatedly say they are scared and “freaking out” after D.M. reported seeing someone in all black outside her room.
Judge Steven Hippler largely granted the prosecution’s request, and in doing so, offered new insight into the hours immediately before the texts were sent.
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The roommates had all been out for the evening, but by 2 a.m., all except for Kernodle had returned to the house. The group was gathered in Goncalves’ room, and discussed whether to leave the house to visit a food truck before going to bed. To that end, D.M. texted a friend asking if they were driving for Uber at 2:10 a.m. Opting not to order food, the girls ultimately went to bed.
D.M. said that she was awakened at approximately 4 a.m. by “strange noises and crying” that seemed to be coming from the bathroom. Upon opening her door, she said she saw a man dressed all in black with a ski mask and bushy eyebrows.
From 4:19 to 4:21, D.M. tried to call B.F., Kernodle, Goncalves and Mogen, but all the calls were unanswered. For the next five minutes, D.M. and B.F. frantically text back and forth as D.M. tries to text and call the other roommates, to no avail.
D.M. to B.F. “No one is answering”
D.M. to B.F. “I’m rlly confused rn.”
D.M. to Goncalves: “Kaylee”
D.M. to Goncalves: “What’s going on”
B.F. to D.M. “Ya dude wtf”
D.M. ultimately left her bedroom and ran into B.F.’s bedroom. While running between the rooms, she “noticed Xana lying on the floor of her bedroom, with her head towards the wall and her feet toward … the door.” D.M. told investigators she initially thought Kernodle was drunk. After arriving at B.F.’s room, the two locked the door and continued trying to call their roommates.
From 5 to 6:30 a.m., D.M. continued using her phone to create, edit and delete images and videos. There was then a lull in phone activity until 8:05 a.m., when she briefly went on Instagram. She then used her phone again at 10 a.m. to return to social media.
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At 10:23 a.m., D.M. texted Mogen and then Goncalves at 11:29 a.m., asking if they were up. When she got no replies, at 11:50 a.m., D.M. asked a friend to help her check the house because she was scared.
B.F. called 911 at 11:56 and told the dispatcher, “Something is happening. Something’s happened in our house and we don’t know what.”
Judge Hippler ruled that part of the 911 call, including a line from a female saying, “Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night. Yeah,” will be redacted at the defense’s request.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to the murders. His trial is scheduled to begin on August 11, 2025, and could extend into November. He faces a potential death sentence if he’s convicted.
