Key Points to Know
- Prosecutors believe Bryan Kohberger, 30, entered a home in Moscow through a sliding glass door and committed multiple murders inside.
- He allegedly killed Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves on the third floor, then went downstairs to attack Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin.
- Kohberger left behind a knife sheath that contained DNA, linking him to the crime.
In a shocking case, Bryan Kohberger has been charged with murdering four University of Idaho students after reportedly breaking into their home through a second-floor sliding glass door. Prosecutor Bill Thompson provided these details in court, emphasizing Kohberger’s actions on the night of November 13, 2022.
According to the prosecutor, Kohberger would have entered the kitchen first. He then moved upstairs, where he allegedly killed Mogen and Goncalves in their bedroom. Afterward, he returned downstairs to claim the lives of Kernodle and Chapin.
After the attacks, Kohberger exited through the same door, passing one of the surviving roommates who had heard unusual sounds and opened her bedroom door.
Thompson highlighted that the case hinged on the knife sheath left at the crime scene. Kohberger had purchased a knife similar to the one used in the murders, and investigators traced DNA found on the knife sheath to his father, Michael Kohberger.
While there was substantial cell phone data indicating Kohberger’s presence near the victims’ home, no direct evidence tied him to the victims before the crime.
Kohberger and his lawyer recently struck a deal with the prosecution, resulting in guilty pleas for four counts of murder and one count of burglary to avoid the death penalty. He is expected to receive four life sentences, plus an additional 10 years for burglary, with all sentences running consecutively, when sentencing occurs on July 23.
