Newly unsealed court documents have laid bare the shocking extent of the truly disturbing and extremely violent attack inflicted on four University of Idaho students during a fatal attack back in November 2022. Autopsy reports, seen by Daily Mail, detail how Bryan Kohberger savagely killed Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves inside their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in an approximately 15 minute window. The findings offer the most detailed account yet of how the attack unfolded, room by room. The information comes from official filings now made public following Kohberger’s plea of guilty in July to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. (Picture: Getty Images)
Investigators believe that Kohberger, a criminology PhD student at Washington State University, entered the house at 1122 King Road through a rear sliding door in the early hours of November 13, 2022. Court records state that he moved quickly through the property, heading first to the third floor. There, best friends Goncalves and Mogen (pictured), both 21, were asleep in the same bed when they were attacked. Autopsies found that both women died from multiple sharp force injuries. In Goncalves’ case, the report also recorded asphyxial injuries and a number of severely traumatic blunt force injuries to the head. (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
The autopsy found Goncalves suffered a minimum of 38 stab wounds. These included at least 24 injuries to her scalp, face and neck, alongside further wounds and lacerations to her chest and arms. The report also documents punctures to the skull, injuries to her teeth and tongue and perforations to major blood vessels, with bleeding into the chest cavities. Idaho police have previously said her face was left ‘unrecognisable’. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson has confirmed some injuries appeared to be caused by something other than the Ka-Bar knife linked to the murders, adding that a second weapon couldn’t be ruled out. (Picture: EPA)
Further details describe blunt force injuries suffered by Goncalves, including a nasal fracture, bleeding around the brain and bruising across the lower face. The position of bloodstains on her body, the bedding and the wall led investigators to surmise that ‘her posture and position did change during this event’. Her father has previously said that he believes that she woke up during the attack. (Picture: Getty Images)
Mogen’s autopsy reveals she suffered 13 stab and incised wounds to the scalp, face and neck, alongside multiple injuries to her arms and chest. The report lists wounds to her lung and liver, perforations of major blood vessels in her chest and injuries to her tongue and nasal septum. A brown leather Ka-Bar knife sheath was found in the bed beside her body. DNA on the sheath matched Kohberger, with blood from both Mogen and Goncalves also found on it. (Picture: Getty Images)
Blood linked to the two women was later found on the bedroom door, along the staircase railing leading down to the second floor and on a beer pong table in the living room. Investigators believe these traces were left as the killer moved through the house after the initial attack. From there, court filings indicate that Kohberger encountered Kernodle, who was awake at the time and had received a DoorDash food delivery minutes before Kohberger entered. (Picture: Instagram)
Kernodle’s autopsy shows that she suffered 67 stab wounds as she fought for her life inside her second-floor bedroom. Her injuries included wounds to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, back and limbs, along with punctures to the skull and perforations to the heart, lung and jugular vein. She also had blood on the soles of her feet, indicating she was very likely to have been moving around during the attack. Her cause of death was ruled as multiple sharp force injuries, with additional abrasions and contusions across her body. (Picture: Instagram)
Her boyfriend, Chapin, was also killed in the same room while he slept. The court filing states he suffered multiple stab and incised wounds to his arms, legs, head and neck, along with a fatal wound to the upper chest. There were perforations to major blood vessels in his neck and chest. The report found no evidence that any of the victims moved into the hallway or living room area after being stabbed, suggesting each attack happened within the bedrooms themselves. (Picture: AP)
After the killings, Kohberger is believed to have left through the same rear sliding door that he came in through, passing surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen, who was 19 at the time. She told police that she saw a man dressed all in black with a mask covering his face. Frightened, she and fellow roommate Bethany Funke attempted to contact their friends but received no response. They stayed together until daylight before calling others to the home, where the scene was discovered, around eight hours later after the murders were carried out. (Picture: Getty Images)
Bryan Kohberger was arrested weeks later at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. For more than two years, he denied responsibility before changing his plea on July 2, admitting to four counts of first degree murder and burglary as part of a deal that removed the death penalty. He was sentenced to life without parole and waived his right to appeal. The now 31-year-old has never spoken publicly about his motive and no connection has ever been established between him and the victims. (Picture: REUTERS)
Separate from the criminal case, the families of the four students have filed a lawsuit against Washington State University, Daily Mail reports, where Kohberger studied and worked at the time. The suit claims the killings ‘should not and would not have occurred if WSU had acted appropriately’ to complaints about his ‘inappropriate, predatory and menacing behaviour’. It alleges the university was aware of ‘threatening, stalking and predatory behaviour’ during the 2022 fall semester but failed to act before the fatal attack. (Picture: REUTERS)Add as preferred source