MOSCOW, Idaho (Scripps News Boise) — As Bryan Kohberger appeared in an Ada County courtroom for his formal sentencing hearing, here’s a timeline of the high-profile quadruple homicide investigation into the murder of four University of Idaho students in 2022.
FILE – A flyer seeking information about the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found dead is displayed on a table along with buttons and bracelets, on Nov. 30, 2022, during a vigil in memory of the victims in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Nov. 13, 2022
At 11:55 a.m., some surviving roommates and close friends call 911 from 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, sparking a cross-country quadruple homicide investigation near the University of Idaho campus, where four students were found dead from multiple stab wounds.
“Something just happened in our house, we don’t know what,” the caller tells dispatch.
The University sends out VANDAL ALERTs informing students that Moscow Police are investigating the deaths, saying there is “no ongoing threat.”
Nov. 14, 2022
Moscow Police identify the victims as best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, and a young couple, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle. All four victims are between 20 and 21 years old. The three female students lived together at the house. Chapin was spending the night. Goncalves recently graduated and moved out, but was visiting Moscow for the weekend.
Nov. 16, 2022
The Latah County Coroner performs autopsies on the victims.
Moscow Police hold a press conference where Chief James Fry calls the crime a targeted attack. With no motive, murder weapon, or suspect, police urge the public to call in tips.
“The four were stabbed with a knife, but no weapon has been located at this time,” Chief Fry said at the time. “Based on evidence at the scene, we believe this was an isolated, targeted attack on our victims.”
Nov. 17, 2022
A vigil is held in Boise to honor the victims.
Nov. 18, 2022
Moscow Police release detailed whereabouts for each victim in the hours leading up to their deaths, hoping the clues will help lead them to their suspect.
Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle spent the night with friends at the Sigma Chi fraternity house before returning to the King Road home around 1:45 a.m.
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen went to The Corner Club in Moscow, where they were seen on surveillance at 1:30 a.m. They then grabbed late-night food at a well-known food truck before getting a ride back to King Road. All victims were home by 2:00 a.m.
FILE – Bare spots are seen on Nov. 29, 2022, in the snowy parking lot in front of the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, in Moscow, Idaho, after vehicles belonging to the victims and others were towed away earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Nov. 26, 2022
Moscow Police hold another press conference where they walk back previous statements that there is no ongoing threat to the community.
“There is a threat out there still, possibly, we don’t know,” Chief James Fry said at the time. “We don’t believe it’s going to be to anyone else. But we all have to be aware of our surroundings and make sure that we’re watching out for each other.”
Nov. 30, 2022
The University of Idaho hosts a vigil to honor the victims on campus. Thousands of students attend.
Dec. 8, 2022
Investigators ask the community to report sightings of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra, which they say was spotted on surveillance footage near the crime scene at the time of the murders.
Over a month goes by without any arrests or suspects identified.
Within six weeks of the murders, police receive nearly 20,000 tips.
Dec. 30, 2022
Police arrest Bryan Christopher Kohberger at his parents’ home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
Bryan Kohberger is escorted by law enforcement after arriving at Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Pullman, Wash. Kohberger was extradited from Pennsylvania earlier Thursday, for the alleged murder of four University of Idaho students on Nov. 13, 2022. (Austin Johnson/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
Kohberger, 28 at the time of his arrest, was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, located approximately eight miles west of Moscow in Pullman, Washington.
Jan. 4, 2023
Kohberger is extradited from Monroe County Jail in Pennsylvania and booked into the Latah County Jail in Moscow, Idaho.
May 17, 2023
Kohberger is indicted by a grand jury on four felony counts of first-degree murder and one felony count of burglary.
Aug. 23, 2023
Kohberger waives his right to a speedy trial.
Dec. 28, 2023
The home where Chapin, Goncalves, Kernodle and Mogen were killed is demolished. The owner of the off-campus house donated it to the university, which stated that the demolition would be a key step toward achieving closure. However, some of the victims’ families oppose the demolition, calling for the house to be preserved until after the case goes to trial.
April 18, 2024
Kohberger submits an alibi, claiming he was “out driving” alone at the time of the murders.
July 23, 2024
Kohberger’s defense team, citing concerns over seating an unbiased jury in the small town, requests his trial be moved to Ada County.
Sep. 6, 2024
Kohberger seeks to have the death penalty thrown out.
This Sept. 15, 2023 booking photo provided by the Ada County Jail shows Bryan Kohberger. (Ada County Jail)
Sep. 9, 2024
A judge grants a change of venue for Kohberger’s trial, citing the extensive media coverage of the case and potential impacts on a jury pool in the small Idaho community. Trial preparations begin in Boise.
Sep. 16, 2024
Kohberger is transferred to the Ada County Jail in Boise.
Oct. 9, 2024
A date is set for Kohberger’s trial. The trial is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2025, with jury selection beginning July 30.
Feb. 19, 2025
A judge denies various requests from the defense to suppress evidence, including DNA.
March 14, 2025
Audio of the 911 call from the day of the quadruple murder is made public.
A private security officer sits in a vehicle, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in front of the house in Moscow, Idaho where four University of Idaho students were killed in November, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
April 24, 2025
A judge rules that prosecutors can pursue the death penalty against Kohberger if he is convicted. His defense attorneys had argued that the death penalty should be off the table due to his autism diagnosis.
May 21, 2025
Kohberger’s defense seeks a trial delay following the airing of a Dateline NBC special that revealed evidence that had not previously been made public. The defense cites a violation of the judge’s gag order as a reason for a delay.
June 18, 2025
Judge Steven Hippler hears arguments for the defense’s request to delay the trial.
June 26, 2025
Kohberger’s trial date is pushed back by one week with sealed proceedings to be held from July 28 to Aug. 1, jury selection to begin Aug. 4, and the court estimates that the trial itself will begin on Aug. 18.
June 30, 2025
The two friends who found the victims’ bodies speak publicly for the first time. They said they saw Xana’s body on the floor, unresponsive. It was hours before they realized Kaylee and Maddie were also inside and no longer alive.
June 30, 2025
Kohberger agrees to a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and instead serve four consecutive life sentences for the murders of Chapin, Goncalves, Kernodle and Mogen.
July 1, 2025
Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
The family of Kaylee Goncalves expresses anger over the plea deal. However, Maddie Mogen’s father tells the Idaho Statesman that he accepts the agreement if it allows his family to avoid a painful trial and help the healing process.
July 2, 2025
Kohberger formally pleads guilty in court to four counts of murder and one count of burglary. Judge schedules sentencing for Wednesday, July 23.
July 23, 2025
At his sentencing hearing, Kohberger is sentenced to four consecutive sentences of life in prison without parole with an additional 10 years.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Boise, an E.W. Scripps Company.
