A THEORY about what really happened during the murders of four Idaho college students has been debunked by the Idaho police.
Recently released Idaho State Police reports concerning the 2022 murders have come to light, featuring an interview with one of the surviving roommates.
In her initial interview, roommate Dylan Mortenson mentioned hearing the name of victim Kaylee Goncalves uttered by convicted killer Bryan Kohberger during the incident.
Mortenson initially informed police that she “heard a male say, ‘It’s OK Kaylee, I’m here for you,’ and crying,” according to a newly unsealed document by Idaho State Police trooper Jeffory Talbot.
“[Dylan] then shut the door,” Talbot reported.
“A short while later, she opened her door again and saw someone approximately 5’10” tall, dressed in black with a ski mask, standing in the kitchen.”
Subsequently, after gathering more evidence and allowing Mortenson to “collect her thoughts and provide in-depth responses,” investigators concluded that Kohberger did not mention Goncalves’ name that night.
“The investigators do not believe the suspect uttered any names,” Moscow police chief Dahlinger wrote in an email to the Idaho Statesman.
“What was verified was Dylan reported hearing a male’s voice saying something akin to, ‘It’s OK, I’m going to (or I’m here to) help you.’”
Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty to the murders of Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
At the sentencing, surviving roommates Dylan Mortenson and Bethany Funk delivered heartfelt statements regarding the tragic loss of their best friends.
“What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break,” Mortenson said at the sentencing.
“I couldn’t be alone.
“I had to sleep in my mom’s bed because I was too terrified to close my eyes,” she said.
“Terrified that if I blinked, someone might be there.”
Mortenson said that the fear she’s experienced goes beyond anxiety.
University of Idaho murders timeline
On November 13, 2022, a brutal home invasion claimed the lives of four University of Idaho students.
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in a Moscow, Idaho, off-campus home.
A six-week manhunt ensued as cops searched for a suspect.
On December 30, 2022, Bryan Kohberger, 30, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania – 2,500 miles away from the crime scene.
He was taken into custody and charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, was linked to the crime scene through phone records, his car’s location, and DNA evidence found at the home where the murders took place.
The house was demolished in December 2023 despite backlash from the victims’ families.
Kohberger was held at Latah County Jail where he awaited trial.
On September 9, 2024, an Idaho judge ruled to move the upcoming murder trial out of Moscow after Kohberger’s lawyer argued that the town was prejudiced against him.
The trial was expected to start in August 2025.
But on June 30, 2025, Kohberger struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to the charges on July 2.
The move was blasted by the victims’ families, who wanted Kohberger to face justice through a trial.
On July 23, Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four consecutive life sentences in prison with an additional 10 years for burglary.
Friends and family members of the four victims shared powerful impact statements at the sentencing hearing, as roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke also spoke out for the first time.
“It’s my body reliving everything over and over again,” she said.
“My nervous system never got the message that it is over, and it won’t let me forget what he did to them.
“People call me strong, they say I’m a survivor, but they don’t see what my new reality looks like,” she continued.
“They don’t see the panic attacks, the hypervigilance, the exhaustion.”
During the sentencing, Judge Steven Hippler called the killer a “faceless coward.”
Kohberger was given four life sentences without parole for his plea.
